Young and Wild
by hellolittlebirdie
Summary: Rosewood has been a quiet town until the new kids came into town. Being the mayor's daughter, Paige can do whatever she wanted. Paige got her eyes on Emily since the first day she arrived to Rosewood, but will Paige get the girl? Emily is dating Maya, but there's something about Paige that keeps drawing her closer to Paige. This is a Paily story with Spoby, Haleb, and Ezria.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello Everyone! This is my first time writing a fan-ficiton so please go easy on me :) I know my writing is not perfect , but I just want to share this story with you guys and hopefully you guys will enjoy reading it. **

**I love the show and absolutely adore this couple. I wish sometimes Paily got more cute screen time like Haleb, Spoby, and Ezria. Anywaysss...**

**Enjoy :)**

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Emily hurriedly walked across the school's parking lot, heading towards where her friends were standing.

"Hey." Aria smiled and replied back hey before leaning in and giving Emily a hug. Hanna was zoned out on her phone, busy reading something, and didn't even reply to Emily. Spencer didn't even look at her, but she just mumbled a "hey" back. Following Spencer's gaze, Emily looked towards a mass crowd that was gathering on the other side of the school's parking lot before looking back at the girls.

Aria turned and asked, "Where's Maya?"

"She didn't want to come to school today," Emily shrugged, very disappointed in her girlfriend's decision. Hanna still hasn't responded to Emily or acknowledged her presence, while Spencer was still looking at the crowd.

"Ohh-kay," Said Emily, " What's going on?"

Aria just shrugged, looking at Emily. Spencer frowned and turned back towards Emily before answering her question.

"Don't you guys find it weird that the new mayor of Rosewood just purchase Rosewood High a couple of days ago? Like he owns this high school now. Who does that?"

Emily shockingly replied, "Wait, what?!"

Aria, with the same shocked expression, "I didn't even know you could do that. Why didn't my mom say anything to me about it?"

"That's because no one was suppose to know about it." Spencer said, " The only reason why I knew is because my mom accidently mentioned it when she was doing all the legal paperwork."

"Apparently, the rest of the school heard about it too." The girls turned around to the deep voice and found Toby and Caleb heading towards them. Toby walked over to Spencer while Caleb tried to greet Hanna with a kiss on the cheek, but Hanna continued to be obsessed over her phone.

"Hanna." Caleb was trying to get her attention, slightly annoyed.

"Uh? What?" Finally getting her attention away from her phone. "Sorry. What are we talking about?"

Toby just smiled and said, " The whole school knows about the mayor's new purchase and they decided to gather in the parking lot before 'the new kids' arrive."

Emily looked confused and asked, "Um… what does the mayor's purchase and 'the new kids' have to do with each other?"

Spencer interjected, " Yeah and who are 'the new kids' anyways? Some special group was smarty-pants that I have to compete with? By the way, there is no competition."

Caleb just laughed, "No, I heard the mayor brought the school because his daughter will be attending here for her senior year and she's bringing some of her friends too. Her last school kicked her out because she and her friends decided to set some textbooks on fire and it got out of hand. No one got hurt, but there were some huge damages. No other school was going to take her after that incident so I guess the mayor decided to buy one so she can finish out her senior year."

"Sounds like she's trouble," said Emily. Emily has always been the shy girl that hardly even gets in trouble. She likes it that way. No one will ever be disappointed in her if she stays away from trouble. As for her girlfriend, it was opposite. Maya liked causing trouble. Emily's parents didn't approve of their relationship mainly because Maya is known to be into smoking and drugs. Maya wasn't shy about letting people know. People knew and they talked, especially in a small town like Rosewood. Emily wishes that Maya would change and still hold on to the hope that one-day Maya would change for her.

"Must be nice to have daddy clean up your mess, " Spencer mumbled, clearly not impressed with the mayor's daughter. Emily's thoughts of Maya were rudely interrupted by Hanna's excitement.

"O-M-G! They're almost here!" exclaimed Hanna, making everyone jump with her announcement.

"How do you know Hanna?" Aria asked.

"Well, I'm friends with this girl named Shana on Twitter. She's been tweeting crazy tweets about coming to Rosewood for school all morning. She must be one of 'the new kids.' I also follow her fashion blog. She's fabulous!"

Emily just silently smiled at her and shook her head slightly. There's nothing in the world that could excite Hanna more like shopping, a fashion guru, or the newest fall collection of Jimmy Choo's. The girl might not know much about anything else in this world, but Hanna can definitely tell the difference between authentic designer products and knocks-offs.

Before Hanna could continue, a loud roaring sound came from the other side of the parking lot. Emily and the rest of the group turned their heads over to the mass gathering of students. Emily saw a black Jeep emerging from the crowd and the Jeep was speeding over towards them. For a second, Emily thought that they might get run over if they didn't get out of the way, but before she and the rest of the group could react, the Jeep just whipped into the first closest empty parking space that marked Principal Carson's name.

"They're so cool!" squealed Hanna, jumping up and down. Spencer just rolled her eyes at Hanna's comment while Aria and Emily both looked dumbfounded at the black Jeep that was parked a couple of feet away from where they were standing.

"Hanna. Don't get too excited," said Caleb, even more annoyed now that his girlfriend was more intrigued with these new kids than paying any attention to him all morning.

For some reason, Emily was getting excited too. Maybe it was Hanna's excitement that was rubbing off on her, but she did want to see what these new students were going to look like and why everyone is so drawn to them.

From the passenger's side of the vehicle, Emily saw a tall girl getting out of the car, followed by a tall curly-hair boy. The tall girl was attractive, Emily concluded. She was tall and she had an athletic built type of body. _Maybe she swims or runs? _The boy was taller than the girl, pale, and had dark features. He was lean and muscular build. He was definitely one of the taller boys at Rosewood High. They looked at each other and smirked, briefly looking around. Hanna was right. They both had this nonchalant quality about them, which made them very alluring. Emily could see the appeal from both of them.

The next figure got out of the driver's side and Emily's eyes immediately were drawn toward the girl. She was also tall with fair skin. Her auburn hair stops right at her shoulders. She was wearing Ray-bans sunglasses so Emily couldn't really tell what the girl really looks like. She was wearing deep grey v-neck with a black bomber jacket and black combat boots. From what Emily can see, this girl has great style and something that intrigued Emily instantly.

The girl looked around as she stretched out her arms above her head. She stopped dead on in Emily's direction and returned Emily's gaze. Emily could feel her heart beating faster. _What the heck_? The girl just gave Emily a crooked smile. Emily stopped breathing right then and there when Emily heard the girl chuckled after flashing her crooked smile.

"Paige!" Emily's gaze was interrupted by Noel Kahn's voice as he shouted towards the new kids. The girl just nodded in acknowledgement towards Noel's direction. _So her name is Paige_ Emily noted in her head. _That's a cute name for a cute girl._

"Ugh! Kahn knows them?" asked Spencer in disgust.

"Of course, I know them, Spencer." Noel walked straight up to their group with Jenna closely behind. "Toby, landscaping didn't work out for you? I though it suited you pretty well, garden-boy."

"Jenna, can you tell your boy-toy to shut his mouth?" Toby warned. Spencer was ready to say something before Jenna interrupted.

"Hello to you too _brother_." Jenna just replied sarcastically as she snaked her arms around Noel's waist.

"You guys are _not_ family anymore Jenna." Spencer said. "Remember to keep your distance away from my boyfriend. I'm warning you."

"_OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH_," Noel laughed. "We're _soooooo_ scared of you and your little crew." He hugged Jenna closer to him. It was too early to deal with Noel and Jenna, Emily thought.

"Paige, come on. Let us show you around." Paige and her two friends walked over to where the group was standing. With that last statement, Noel and Jenna turned and walked in the school. Shouting back at Emily and her friends. "There is a new crew in town. You guys better watch out."

There was just something about the look Noel gave Emily and her friends. It never sat right with Emily. Honestly, the way Noel would look, sometimes, crept Emily out. She didn't like him. She never did. There was something about him that made Emily want to punch him in the face every time she came in contact with him.

The curly-hair boy walked by first. Giving Emily and her friends the most devious smile she has ever seen. The athletic girl passed by next, but before she completely walked away. She turned and introduced herself.

"I'm Shana." The auburn-hair girl followed Shana and stops right in front of Emily. She took off her sunglasses and looked straight into Emily's eyes. Emily felt a slight flush before looking around from this girl's dark brown gaze. " You guys should really watch out though," said Shana.

"What?!" Spencer exclaimed and Aria followed up, "Why?"

"Because we're the kids your parents warned you about," Shana mischievous concluded before walking away. Emily looked up at the auburn-hair girl, waiting for her to say something but she didn't. She just raised her eyebrow at Emily and gave her a smirk before walking away.

Emily and her friends watched as both girls disappeared into the hallway. Hanna spoke first. "What does that mean?" Emily was also confused too. "What does that mean?" mumbled to her self.

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**Let me know what you think. Review it. PM me. Favorite it. Follow it. Until next time.**

**Cheers**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for all reviews, follows, and favorites so far. I read all the reviews. They're such positive feedbacks and very encouraging. My writing is not grammatically perfect so please forgive me for any errors **

**So let's continue this story shall we?**

**Enjoy**

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"What does that mean?" Paige asked, chuckling and trying to process what she just heard.

" You know what I mean, Paige."

"Shana, I don't know what you're talking about." Paige shakes her head and walked passed Shana to go over her locker. Patrick just stood there with no comment. He was smart to know not to comment when the two of them are bickering.

"Paige, I know that look and that smirk. That girl is not your type."

"Oh and you know this because…"

"Because I know you. I know your type and she's not your type."

" Ok Shana. Whatever. Come on Patrick." Paige didn't want to continue this conversation so she just dismissed it and Shana. Grabbed her book, she walked over to where Noel and Jenna were standing. "Let's go and get this day over with."

"So did daddy dearest clean up your mess this time Paige?" Noel asked when they all walked into classroom. Paige just rolled her eyes at Noel. The boy knows how to get under people's skin, doesn't he?

"Paige, it's ok. We're different from other kids. Our parents have money, power, and status. What's the point on having all of those things if you're not going to use it? You should learn to utilize it more especially when your old man is the mayor."

Paige just decided to block Noel out. She doesn't have to explain to anyone what happened in her past, especially to Noel. Paige just wanted the first day of school to be over with. Paige thought about the raven colored hair girl she saw earlier. She was tall, tan, and she had the cutest pair of eyes Paige has even seen. Those eyes looked so innocence, but there was something else that Paige couldn't pinpoint about those eyes. Regardless, Paige liked them. Just everything about her appearance is beautiful, Paige thought. _I don't even know her name, and I'll bet this girl has the most mesmerizing smile too. _

The classroom was small. There were only a couple of tables so Paige just assumed that there wouldn't be a lot of students in this particular class. Noel and Jenna took their seats first. They decided to sit near the front. Paige sat at the table directly behind Noel. Shana took the seat next to Paige and Patrick sat at the other end of the table.

"Ladies. Glad you guys were able joining us."

Paige turned around and realized that the same group of girls earlier, followed by two boys, just walked in. There she is. _Shit, she's in this class too?_ _This is going to be interesting._ Paige continues to look at her. The girl just frowned, looked away, and followed her friends to sit in the back. Paige turned back around and smiled quietly to her self.

"Ok everybody. Please have a seat. There's some new students here with us today so let's welcome them. You guys can call me Mr. Fitz. Yes, Mr. Kahn. Question?"

"Yeah Mr. Fitz. Are you doing anything this weekend? There's going to be a huge party thrown in Paige's honor. You should swing by Mr. Fitz" Noel smiled at Mr. Fitz.

"I don't think it is appropriate Mr. Kahn."

"Why not? I heard you like to hang out with some of us outside of class." Noel said. Jenna snickered, trying hard to not let out a full laughter.

There was a knock on the door. Mr. Fitz just cleared his throat and excused him from the class.

"Save by the knock!" Noel chuckled out loud before looking over to where the girls were sitting. One of the girls, Paige noticed, looked a little pale. The blonde girl, next to her, was whispering something in her ear and trying to calm her down. _What's up with her? _Noel stood up and slowly wandered over to the other table.

"Noel, stop being such an ass." Toby said as he and Caleb both stood up and protectively shielding the girls from Noel's advances.

"Woah there boys. No need to get defensive. Its all fun and games right Aria?" Noel nodded towards the girl. She only replied by rolling her eyes at him and not letting him get to her. He wandered back to his table and took a seat next to Jenna.

"Shana let's make this day more interesting shall we? I'm bored already." Jenna turned around in her chair and looked at Shana.

"Good thing I brought this. Just in case this day turned into a drag." Once Shana was done talking, she dug into her bag, pulled out a flask, and waved it in front of Jenna. Jenna smiled back at Shana. Something about that smile was weird, Paige thought.

Noel leaned over the table and grabbed the flask. He opened it and took the first sip. He made a face, indicating that whatever was inside that flask tasted pretty gross. Noel passed it to Jenna. Jenna did the same thing and passed it back. Paige turned around, examined the room. All the other students look terrified, but she didn't care about them. Beside from those four girls and two boys, there was another girl and boy presented in the class. The girl looked petite, and well dressed. She looked like she was full of attitude. However, the boy next to her had wavy hair and he seemed a very nervous. He just kept on glancing back and forward, hoping that the bell will ring and save him in the process.

She searched for those cute eyes and found them. Her face said it all. She was shocked at what she was witnessing. All of her friends looked uncomfortable too actually. Paige smiled at her. _She's adorable with those bambi-looking eyes. _She looked scared, but that's a cuteness quality behind that face expression. Paige couldn't help it. She liked it.

" Ahhh Emily! Do you want a taste?" Noel said as he got up and walked over to where she was sitting, still shocked. _Emily. A cute name for a cute girl, _Paige thought.

"Come on Emily. Have some fun. This is our senior year!"

Emily was looking more and more terrified as Noel walked closer and closer to her.

"Noel put those flasks away." Emily said in a hushed tone.

Paige didn't like Noel's proximity to Emily. Paige can hear Jenna and Shana giggling beside her. They took pleasure in seeing Emily swarm.

"Spencer? Hanna? Come on Hanna." Before Paige could stop Noel's advancement, the boy with long black hair, stood up and shoved Noel from the side. The shoved caused Noel to fall over Emily's table. Resulting in gasping and screaming, as the flask fell out of Noel's hand and bounced off of the desk, spilling the alcohol all over the girls.

"Go away Noel. We don't want to get into trouble."

"Do you know who you're messing with, Rivers?" Noel stabled himself with Emily's table before standing up straight. Patrick stood up abruptly from where he was sitting and that was a cue for Toby to stand up as well. Noel forceful shoved Caleb back. "Stop it Noel!" yelled Hanna. Toby lurched forward and pushed Noel back. "It's on now boys." Noel said through his teeth. Patrick ran over and shoved Caleb. "Toby! Help Caleb!" Spencer directed. As Toby rushed over to Caleb and helped him stand up, Noel pulled back his arm, ready to punch it forward in Caleb's direction.

Paige knew what was going to happen next. Before the heated situation could escalate to where people start throwing punches, Paige stood up abruptly. Everyone turned and looked at Paige. Emily had her hands over her month and all Paige could see were her eyes again. Emily's beyond terrified.

Paige quickly ran over to Noel and grabbed him from behind. She used all her strength and pulled Noel away from the other boys. "Enough!" Paige hissed. "Patrick!" With that command, Patrick automatically stopped and backed off of Toby and Caleb. Before Noel can get the chance to argue with Paige, Principal Carson and Mr. Fitz busted into the room.

"What was that ruckus?" Principal Carson asked. Paige could see that his eyes were analyzing the room. She saw that his eyes landed on the flask that was lying on the ground. Paige could hear Noel nervously breathing. _Shit. _Principal Carson picked it up and walked back to them. He walked straight up to the group of girls and looked at each of them. "Girls? Can you explain this?"

Before any of the girls could answer, Toby jumped in and said, " It's not ours Principal Carson." Caleb backed him by nodding beside him and looking towards Noel and Paige.

Principal Carson walked back to look at Noel and Paige. Paige let Noel go and she stood straight up as she can feel what's about to come next.

"Miss McCullers. Can you explain this please?"

Paige just sighed and shrugged her shoulder. She looked away. She's used to this. Getting into trouble was her thing, but she just didn't expect to get into trouble this soon at a new school. That's a record in her book.

"I was the one that brought that flask to school." Shana stood up, owning up to her actions. "We just wanted to have some fun. No big deal."

"No _this is a BIG deal _miss. Bring alcohol to school? I know what you're trying to do. You don't need to take the blame for your ringleader here. It clearly says 'P.M.' on this flask. I wonder who's this flask belongs to." _Shit again. _

"Fine. You caught me." Paige said, now turning her attention back to Principal Carson. There was no point to argue. "That's my flask."

Principal Carson looked at Paige closely before saying up. "Ok listen up. I want _all of you_ to report back here after school for one hour of detention. If you agree, then I won't call your parents and let them know what their child was doing in Literature class today. Clear?"

Spencer, clearly outraged, " But that's not fair for the rest of us. _They_ were the ones that brought alcohol and tried to fight our friends."

"So there was a fight that happened in here too?" Principal Carson asked, turning red. He was not a happy man at this point. This is going to be a very long day, Paige thought.

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**Let me know what you think. Review it. PM me. Favorite it. Follow it. Until next time.**

**Cheers**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you to the 7 reviews, 7 favorites, and 23 followers for this story (since I checked this morning 2:44 to get the exact numbers). I hope the story is still keeping your interest. I did update the story to rating T, based on a request from a guest ;) Just for you.**

**Nae10: Thank you for the PM. I'm very glad you're enjoying the story as far. **

**Ok. Here we go.**

**Enjoy**

"You guys this has been a very long day," Emily whined, "I'm tired."

"Thank god my mother is not finding out about this. She would kill me." Aria said, shaking her head.

"Ugghhh. I'm not going to be able to get this alcohol scent out of my hair!" cried Hanna.

"I have _never_ been in detention. Oh my god! Do you think that this goes on your college application?!" Spencer was freaking out at this point.

"Spence, it doesn't work like that." Toby was trying to calm her down.

"He's right Spencer. Detention doesn't count. Only suspension counts." Caleb reasoned. Spencer seemed to have calmed down with those words.

"Noel's such a d-bag," said Spencer, "I can't believe you were into him once."

"HEY, I was young and stupid, ok?" Said Aria, "Let's just do our time and get out of here."

They walked into Mr. Fitz's room, surprised that the other kids were already there. Emily spotted Paige first. Paige looked up at her and smirked. _What?_ Emily returned a smile. _Why did I smile back? _ Emily turned quickly and looked away before following the girls to one side. Toby and Caleb followed and sat down next to Emily.

Principal Carson walked in and looked at them. "I'm disappointed in all of you. I expected more from you guys. It's too early in the semester to be having problems. It's my job to make sure that everyone performs his or her best at this school and I don't want any more trouble from _any_ one of you for the rest of the year. Do we have an understanding?"

Everyone nods.

"Do we have an understanding?" He said louder.

"YES." Everybody mumbled.

"Miss McCullers, do we have an understanding?"

Emily looks over at Paige. She had her head turned and was looking outside the window. Totally ignoring what Principal Carson was asking her. Emily felt nervous for Paige because Paige just seems to do whatever she wanted. She seemed like she didn't care for anything or anyone. Principal Carson was getting more irritated with Paige's behavior so he spoke again.

"Paige McCullers."

This time Paige responded. She looked dead on at Principal Carson.

"I see that I got your attention, Paige. Please don't bring your troubles to Rosewood. I respect your father that's why I'm letting this go so easily. Please don't bring other good students down with you because of your lack of good judgment. Do we have an understanding?"

Paige then smirked and said, "Crystal sir!" Emily couldn't tell if Paige was being serious or just being sarcastic.

"Mr. Kahn? I'll be watching you closely too." With that comment, Principal Carson turned and left the classroom.

When Principal Carson left, Emily was still looking at Paige. Emily was shocked once again by Paige's response. The girl had no respect for authority. Emily felt uncomfortable, just sitting there, and listening to those harsh words that Principal Carson had to say. Even Spencer mumbled, "Damn that's a little harsh." Toby and Caleb just looked at each other with the same expression.

"Damn Paige! You know how to get on people's good sides, don't you?" Noel chuckled.

Emily didn't understand how these two are even friends. Noel seems to not know when to keep his mouth shut and Paige seems to be a person of few words. But when Paige spoke, her words were blunt and mocking. _Paige._ What is it about Paige that Emily found attractive? Emily only saw the girl for like 2 minutes and Paige didn't even say a word to her. Paige only smiled slightly at Emily and now Emily couldn't stop thinking about Paige. _I'm definitely curious about Paige. _

Every once in awhile she kept glancing over to see what Paige was doing. Paige was staring outside the window. She was leaning back in her chair. One arm draped over the back of the chair and legs kicked up on the table. Shana and Jenna were quietly whispering to each other. Patrick looked like he was the only one doing some homework as he had this intense concentration look on his face. Noel was laying his head down on the desk and napping. Emily, herself, had gotten her homework out but she hasn't even tried to start the assignment.

"Don't think about it Em." She turned around and all of the girl's eyes were on her.

She made a face and asked," What?"

Hanna raised her eyebrow, trying to hide her smile, "You know what." Aria giggled quiet at Emily. Apparently, Emily was the only one who didn't understand what Spencer was trying to imply.

"Don't think about it, " Spencer spitted out. Emily, still confused, looked at the boyfriends, but they wisely had their heads down, trying not to get involved.

"I don't know what you're talking about Spencer." Emily said back.

Spencer opened her mouth, but then Emily saw her eyes moving to the figure that was sitting in front of them. Emily followed Spencer's gaze and found that Paige has moved from across the room. Emily stopped thinking and just stared at Paige. _What is she doing over here? _

"What are you doing over here?" Spencer said fully of animosity.

"I like this side of the room better." She smirked.

"Yuckkk," Spencer said in disgusted.

Emily was still staring at her. Emily couldn't stop staring at this face. Her eyes were gorgeous. Emily noticed that there is a hint of green in her eyes. It's quite hypnotic. Her nose was this cute button nose and her lips were the perfect shade of pink against her fair skin tone. The more Emily stared, the more attraction Emily felt towards Paige.

_Oh my god. I can't be thinking like this. I have a girlfriend._

After a moment of silence, Paige spoke again. "I'm Paige," she smiled towards Emily. Emily's heart started pounding louder and she couldn't hear anything else after Paige was done introducing herself. Paige extended a hand to Emily, but Emily just stared at Paige, in awe.

"I'm Hanna." Giggling as she nudged Emily's shoulder while shaking Paige's hand. Emily shook her head and snapped out of her daze. Spencer threw a death glare in Hanna's direction, but she dismissed it and smiled back at Paige.

"I'm Emily."

"Emily." Paige smiled wider at the name. Emily couldn't take this anymore. This girl was getting more and more attractive as Paige was sitting before her and her friends. Emily couldn't help but smile back.

"I'm Spencer." Emily gave Spencer a stern look. " This Aria, Toby, and Caleb. You still haven't answered my question. What are you doing over here?"

"Well aren't you a bundle of joy to meet?" Paige joked.

Everyone started laughing and giggling before Spencer glanced back. When Spencer gives you the 'I-will-hurt-you-later' look, you better stop laughing. The wrath of a Hastings is something no one should test. Toby knew that the best. He has warned the girls about it before and they all believed him.

Emily looked over and she can see Shana glaring at her. That's odd. Why is that girl staring at her so intensively? Emily looked back at Paige; found that Paige was still looking at her. Paige smiled again. She has a shy but cute smile. It makes Emily want to smile back at her every time she sees that smile.

Spencer cleared her throat. Emily looked up only to find everyone with an uncomfortable look on his or her faces, but Hanna. Hanna looked like she was going to die of happiness. Emily felt her cheeks burning up. She just got caught staring at Paige by all of her friends.

"Um…so there's this party this weekend. It's at the Lakeview House." Paige said.

"You mean, the mansion that occupies the entire street of Lakeview Drive?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah, you guys should swing by." Paige looked directly at Emily when she said that.

"Of course, we'll be there!" Hanna exclaimed.

Spencer and Aria both said, " Hanna!" Hanna gave them the classic Marin _what_ look and shrugged. Hanna turned back to Paige, "What time should we be there? Or is this a themed party? _Ohhh…_ what's the theme?"

Before Paige could tell Hanna to slow down and breathe, Shana walked over and stood behind Paige, placed both hands on Paige's shoulder.

"Come over at ten. The party will start around then." Shana said.

Emily looked at Shana and down to Paige. Paige look composed again. She sat a little straighter and seemed more tensed as Shana's hands trailed back and forth on Paige's shoulder. Emily was getting a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was not comfortable with the way Shana was touching Paige.

"Why should we come to your party?" Spencer again. Spencer also had her guarded up. The tension has been turned back on in the room. Noel walked over, Jenna holding his hand, and Patrick following behind.

"Because…Spencer. It will be the first of many epic parties thrown at the mayor's house. Who won't want to be there?" Noel smirked at Emily and her friends. "Let's get out of here."

Patrick nodded his head at them before leaving. Emily returned her gazed to Shana. Shana then bent down and gave Paige a slow kiss on the cheek and said, "Let's go hun." Emily could hear Hanna's muffled gasp. Paige looked at Emily. Emily winced. _Did that just happened?_ Paige seemed to have read her mind, flashed her a slight smirk and raised her eyebrow at Emily.

"I'll see you guys Saturday night."

Paige got up and followed Shana out of the classroom. Emily frowned. _What the hell?_

**Let me know what you think. Review it. PM me. Favorite it. Follow it. Until next time.**

**Cheers**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Ok the wait is over and its back to business. I hope everyone had a nice holiday by the way :)**

**Thank you for all reviews, favorites, and PM. I really appreciate all of them. This is my longest chapter yet so I hope this chapter is as good as the last three chapters for all you readers.**

**Nae10: There's just something about her that I never liked. Maybe it's because she has some history with Paige or that she flirted with Emily, knowing that Emily is dating Paige. **

**So here we go again.**

**Enjoy**

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"What the hell?!" Paige exclaimed, once she reached her car. She opened the door and got in.

"Please Paige. Don't act like you didn't like it." Shana laughed. "I did you a favor. She's not your type."

"Um…Shana? Don't tell me what to do," Paige said.

"Honestly, Paige. What's up with that girl?" Patrick asked from the back seat, not even looking at Paige or Shana. "All she does is stares at you. It's creepy."

Paige let out a chuckle. "Whatever."

"Are you going to let us help you with this party or what?" Shana asked, clearly wanting to change the subject.

"Let's show Rosewood how to have a good time." Paige said, looking back at Shana before stepping on the accelerator.

SATURDAY NIGHT

The house was at its maximum capacity. Music was blasting. Kegs of beer were flowing. People were everywhere. They were drinking, talking, laughing, smoking, flirting, and everything else under the moon. This was a huge turnout in Rosewood. It seems like the all the high-school kids decided to show up, to see what all the fuss was about.

Emily managed to squeeze by a couple of people who were intoxicated.

"Holy hell, there is a lot of people in here." Caleb said.

"Guys, they have all types of alcohol here! I think I got vodka. Not sure." Hanna frowned at the content in the red cup that she was holding.

"Hanna where did you get that cup?!" Spencer asked, looking concerned.

"They were passing them out when we were trying to get in here." Hanna answered, annoyed by Spencer's concern. Spencer just smacked the drink out of Hanna's hand.

"Hey!" Hanna cried out.

"Hanna, they are passing a lot of stuff around." Spencer said. "Who knows what they're passing out."

"Careful Hanna. Let's not get all drugged up tonight." Caleb warned. "Toby, let's get these ladies some drinks. Be right back."

The girls stood there and observed the partygoers. People were getting sloppy and it hasn't been past midnight yet. Emily has never seen anything like this. This is definitely the biggest party she has ever attended. Heck, it was the biggest party ever that was held in Rosewood.

"So, Maya didn't want to come with you, I take it?" Aria said, looping her arm with Emily's.

"No. Party is not really her thing anymore." Emily said, once again disappointed with Maya's decision. "She's been really distant lately."

"It's ok Em. She's probably dealing with family stuff right now so give her time and space. She'll come around." Aria gave Emily's arm a squeeze, hoping it would ease Emily's worries.

"I hope you're right." Emily said.

"Let's just have fun tonight ok?" Aria gave Emily a small smile.

"Hanna!" The girls turned toward the voice.

"Hey Mona!" Hanna replied. " You came too?"

"I came with Lucas. He's with the boys, getting us drinks. I had to see for myself how crazy these new kids are. After all, we did spend an extra hour with them in detention. What happened in literature class today was so _crazy_! "

"Well Noel had it coming. I just wished Toby would have knock him on his ass." Spencer said.

"Look who it is!"

The girls turned around and found Noel slightly stumbling towards them. Jenna was holding him up, but Emily could see that she was struggling. At that moment, Caleb, Toby, and Lucas returned with the drinks and handed them to the girls.

"Hey where's your hot girlfriend Emily?" Noel smiled at Emily.

"You still acting like a jerk, even when you're drunk, Noel?" Aria asked in disbelief.

"Whoa there, buddy." Emily looked pass Noel, towards the voice. From behind Noel, Patrick emerged. He grabbed Noel from the other side and held him up. " Can't we just all get along here?" Patrick smiled, and asked the group.

"Paige!" Patrick called back from behind him.

"What is this Noel? We haven't even got to the good stuff yet." Shana said, appearing next to Jenna amused by Noel's current condition. Paige walked and stood next to them.

"Wow Noel, you can't really hold your liquor. Can't you? " Paige said laughing, turning back to Emily and her friends. "Emily."

"Paige." Emily said back, trying hard to not smile at the girl. Paige was wearing a loose white tank top with black distressed shorts and those combat boots. Emily liked this simple style that Paige had. It looked good on her. It looked damn good, Emily thought.

"Ready to party?" Paige asked the group, but Emily felt like Paige was directing that question at Emily. Emily gulped nervously, but didn't what Paige to see her anxiety.

"What?! This is not it?" Aria asked with wide eyes.

Paige shook her head and looked back at her group. They all laughed quietly at each other. They are in for a ride then, Paige thought.

"This way." Paige said. Patrick was still helping Noel stand up, walking first. Jenna followed next, linking her arms with Shana. Paige led everyone to the back of the house. There was this huge wooden door. Paige knocked three times and the door opened.

"Alfred." Paige tipped her head towards a white-hair man. She motioned for everyone else to follow. The white-hair man hands her a bottle of champagne. She quickly shook the bottle and turned around towards them. The bottle popped and the content inside sprayed all over them. "Welcome to Club Reckless." She smiled mischievously. "WOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Paige continued to shake the bottle, causing the rest of the content to come flying out over everyone.

Emily raised her hands to block the champagne, but it was no use. She was soaked in champagne as well as the rest of the group. Patrick and Noel joined Paige in grabbing other bottles of champagne and spraying the content everywhere. Shana and Jenna just laughed, grabbed their own bottles, and followed.

Paige turned back towards the Emily and her friends. Her tank is now soaked and Emily couldn't help but look at Paige from head to toes. Paige just grinned and ran her hands through her hair. "Emily." Emily immediately turned her head in the other direction, causing Paige to laugh quietly.

"Ok, here are the ground rules. Whatever happens in here stays here. That being said, everything you find in here is fair game. Drink it. Smoke it. Try it. _Be reckless_." Paige whispered the last part to Emily.

Emily swallowed hard. _What did we get ourselves into?_ Paige was staring intensively at Emily, and she was beginning to feel like Paige was challenging her. Emily looked around and noticed there was a huge pool in right behind Paige. The pool was filled with people, swimming, splashing, and making out. As the music blasted, the pool illuminated different colors to different beats. Decided to try to distract Paige, the only thing that Emily could think of saying was, "We didn't bring our swimming attires."

Paige smiled deviously at Emily. Paige raked her eyes up and down the length of Emily's body and shrugged. "So then…improvise." Just like that, Paige peeled her tank top over her head, pulled down her shorts, and kicked off her boots. Emily's jaw dropped. _Holy shit! _Paige chuckled quietly before turning and running towards the pool. She jumped and dived into it. People started cheering and whistling wildly, giving Paige a round of applause. She has a nice diving form, Emily thought. _She must be an excellent swimmer_.

Paige came up from the water, laughed and pointed at Emily before turning her attention with some girls, who swam over, extending their hands. Emily took a minute to soak in the environment. The pool was large and there was an extended dance floor the hovered right above the pool. People were taking turns, jumping off the dance floor and into the water. The DJ booth was located right on the other side of the pool, where the dance floor ended. Emily could see a group of girls, in their undies, dancing on top of the DJ's table. On the left side of the pool were tables that held an array of alcohol bottles and champagne. The people were pouring endless rounds of shots and taking them. On the right side of the pool was a lounge area. People were lying on top of each other, laughing and blowing out smoke. Emily could smell, from where she was standing, what these people were smoking. It was a very distinctive, potent smell. Emily spotted Noel and Patrick in the crowd of people smoking. Shana and Jenna were there too, but they were occupied with some guy who was showing them little white pills from his pocket.

"This is beyond a party." Spencer spoke first, breaking Emily's train of thought.

"Let's party! Woo woo! Woo woo!" Hanna yelled. People, near by, cheered and whistled to Hanna'a excitement.

"Hanna! No!" Spencer scorned. She shook her head at Hanna.

"Come on Spence. We're like in an exclusive party. We're in with the cool kids!" Hanna reasoned.

Caleb shrugged. " We should stick together so we don't get into trouble."

"Good idea. It's ok Spence. You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do." Toby answered, but Spencer could see a hint of interest glistening in Toby's eyes.

"Tobyyyy?" Spencer glared at him, mentally telling him not to think about it.

"Look, we'll just hang out for a bit and if it's get out of control, then we'll leave Deal?" Toby asked the group.

"I have never done anything like this before." Lucas said nervously.

"We're not going to do anything!" Spencer said harshly.

"Come on Spence. I don't think it will hurt if we just hang out here for another 30 minutes or so." Aria said.

"Fine! Fine!" Spencer unpleasantly mumbled, knowing that she had just lost the battle. Hanna squealed and ran off to mingle with other partygoers. Caleb followed her close behind, sighing.

"YOU! You're playing with fire Em." Spencer warned. Emily rolled her eyes at Spencer and turned her head to see what Paige was doing. Aria just looked at Spencer, shaking her head.

"You have a girlfriend. Remember that?" Spencer turned and took Toby's hand, walking away to the alcohol tables.

"Just have fun. Don't let Maya and her not-being-here bring you down."

Aria said before walking away with Lucas and Mona.

Emily was contemplating on what to do next. This was all new and foreign to her. To her surprise, she was the only one from the group who was not mingling with the other people. Spencer and Toby both have drinks in their hands and now it seems like Spencer is letting her guard down just a bit. Aria and Mona were dancing on the dance floor and Lucas was trying to keep up. Hanna was trying to talk to the DJ, with Caleb standing next her annoyed.

" You're messing out on the festivities!" Paige shouted at her from the pool. Emily crossed her arms across her chest and walked over to where Paige was swimming. Paige whispered something in one of the girl's ear and the group of girls swam away.

"Don't you think your girlfriend would get mad at you?" Emily said.

Paige made a puzzled face. "I don't have a girlfriend."

Emily pointed over to Shana. Paige made a face again, understanding what Emily was trying to imply.

"She's not my girlfriend." Paige said.

"So…you always let your friend kiss you on the cheek?" Emily joked back, sarcastically.

"Why? Are we friends now?" Paige threw back, raising her eyebrow. Paige swam closer to the edge of the pool, folded her arms on the ledge, and leaned up at Emily. "You're more than welcome to give me a kiss on the cheek if you like." Paige winked at Emily.

"No thank you. I have a girlfriend." Emily said bluntly.

"Oh. Is she here with you?"

"No, she didn't want to come."

"Well, she must be dumb to have not accompany you tonight." Paige slowly pulled herself out of the pool, standing in front of Emily. "If you were my girl, I won't let you out of my sight." Paige smiled, before reaching for her towel on the pool chair. Emily couldn't think of anything to say back to Paige. She just stared at Paige.

"Why aren't you drinking or whatever?" Paige asked.

Emily shrugged. "You know? You're more of a square than Spencer." Paige laughed. Emily made a face at that remark.

"Emily! You should have danced with us. Oh my goodness, I danced my ass off. I need to sit down." Hanna rushed to Emily's side and grabbed her arm. "How are you doing?" Emily turned to Hanna, and saw everyone re-grouping.

"You guys ready to leave?" Emily asked anxiously.

"Wait. You want to leave already?" Paige asked, using the towel to dry her hair and looking up at Emily. "Alfred! Can you bring me some dry clothes, please?"

"Who's Alfred?" Lucas asked, looking at the white-hair man. Paige looked at Emily a little bit longer before taking her eyes off and looked at Lucas.

"And you are…" Paige looked back at Emily and held her gaze.

"Lucas."

"Well Lucas, he's my butler." Paige said, smiling before giving Emily a wink again. Emily's breath hitched and she blushed instantly. _Quit winking at me!_

"What? Are you batman or something?" Spencer mumbled, unimpressed, looking around the space.

Paige inched in closer to Emily and whispered in her ear. " Don't leave. I'll be right back." Paige's warm breath against her ear gave her chills. Paige nodded towards Emily and looked into her eyes, making sure Emily understood.

A couple minutes later, Paige returned. "So shall we play a game now?" Paige asked Emily and her friends. No one asked. "Ohhh-kay. Spencer. I challenge you to a game of quarters."

Emily turned and looked at her friends. They all were waiting for Spencer to give Paige a response. Emily already knew Spencer's answer. No one challenges a Hastings. It's in their DNA to _always_ accept. Plus the fact that Spencer didn't really like Paige makes this whole situation more intense.

"Spence, you don't have to play." Toby said quietly in her ear. Spencer jerked back and turned to look at Paige, "No, I'll play."

"I want to play against Emily." Shana said, suddenly appearing from nowhere. Shana walked over to Paige, resting her arm on Paige's shoulder. The rest of Paige's friends appear, Noel shouted out loud, " Gather around folks. You don't want to miss this!"

Paige looked at Emily. Emily looked like she didn't know how to respond. Should she play? She has never play a drink game before. Emily looked back at Spencer and replayed back what Paige just called her earlier_. I'm not a square!_ Emily nodded at Spencer.

"Yeah, I'll play." Emily answered.

"Alright, let's set it up here then." Paige said.

"Move! I need this space." Shana told a couple kids off before pulling the patio table further out. Paige grabbed her poison of choice, Captain Morgan, and four shot glasses from the alcohol tables. She filled up all four glasses and placed them in the middle of the table. She asked Patrick to go find her four quarters. He came back a couple minutes later and tossed Emily and Spencer each one quarter.

"Ok, the rules are simple. Bounce the quarter. Make it land in the shot glass. Your opponent will take that shot. There will be three rounds." Paige said, adding a smirk.

"Three rounds?" Emily asked softly, looking back at Spencer. "There's a possibility that I could take six shots?!" The realization made Emily very anxious and Emily could see that Spencer was trying to reason this out in her head too.

"What? You guys are backing out?" Noel laughed.

"Let's go," Spencer said, putting her poker face on.

"You guys go first." Paige said. "I'm only going to give you this one opportunity. Make it count Hastings."

"Come on Spencer and Emily!" shouted Hanna from the sidelines.

"Hanna, shhh. They need to concentrate." Aria hushed.

"Why they need to concentrate? Bounce the quarter into the shot glass, remember? Easy." Said Hanna.

Both Caleb and Toby shook their heads and laughed quietly. Toby was feeling very anxious for Spencer's sake. He has never seen her take shots before. Beers, yes. Mixed drinks, sure. Shots? No way. This could be the first time for her.

Spencer's quarter bounced and flew over the set of shot glasses, while Emily's completely bounced flat. Shana and Paige looked at each other and laughed. Shana went first. Her quarter hopped on the edge of the table and landed perfectly in one of the shots. Paige's bounced hers perfectly and landed in the other shot glass, causing a little splash. Spencer and Emily looked at each other and gulped. _Here we go_. Emily has never done a shot before. Usually at parties, the only thing that she will drink is beer and maybe flavored vodka, but she has never binge drink before. She has never pushed the boundaries by taking shots. Shots were intimidating. Shots were for wild people and that is not Emily.

Spencer and Emily both plugged their noses and held the shot glasses up to their lips. _3-2-1_. They both shot it back at the same time. The warm liquor intensified down Emily's throat, causing her to cough wildly. _Ughhh!_ Spencer just made a face for a solid five seconds before she gained composure. She breathed in and out to take the edge off of that shot.

"We're not done yet. There are still two more shots left in this round." Shana said. "I'm actually getting kind of thirsty now. Come on Emily." Shana smirked at her.

"Bring it on." Emily felt a little bolder. She felt more daring. Her energy level was rising. _This is weird. What's going on?_

"Why don't you two go first again?" Paige said, smiling at Emily.

This time was the same as the last time. Emily's aim was way off. At least Spencer's quarter hit the shot glass but it bounced off of it and landed on the ground. Oh my god, Emily thought. She was going to take this shot too. Spencer and Emily did ended up taking the last two shots and the next four. However, by the end of the second round, Emily and Spencer, both, got used to taking shots.

Emily could feel her cheeks flush and her body temperature rising. She has never felt like this before. Her mind is so clear and she can hear her heart beating faster and harder. The beating intensified and her fingers tingled. All the voices around her zoned out. All she could hear is her pulse.

"Too much for you to handle, Emily?" Paige suddenly was in front of her. Paige couldn't help but chuckled. Emily looked around. Shana has disappeared off somewhere. All her friends were drinking and laughing, not paying any attention to them.

"Nope. I'm good." Emily smirked back at Paige.

"Are you sure?" Paige laughed. "You look a little tipsy."

"Positive. Never been better." Paige studied her face. She didn't want to look away. Paige loved the slight flush that was on Emily's cheeks. She tried hard to not reach out and touch those cheeks.

"Take one with me." Emily said suddenly.

"What? Are you sure?"

"I want one more."

Paige studied Emily for a minute and Emily raised her eyebrow at her.

"What, Paige? Are you scared?"

Paige smirked back and shook her head at Emily. She reached behind her to grab two shot glasses, bringing her face close to Emily's, never taking her eyes off of Emily's. Paige's face was really close. She grabbed the bottle and turned away to fill up the two shot glasses. Emily finally was able to let out that breath that she was holding. She could breath now with Paige looking away. However, she still felt very nervous when Paige standing this close. Her heart was thudding against her chest. Emily could feel her ears burning and the loud pulsing was beating into her ears. Paige handed Emily her shot glasses and took one step back before picking up hers.

"What should we toast too?" Emily spoke first, trying to distract herself from Paige's presence. Hopefully, Paige won't notice that Emily was blushing.

"To Mayor McCullers. Thank you for buying the high school." Paige smirked, raising her glass. Emily smirked back, understood Paige's meaning behind that toast. Emily raised her own glassed and gently clinked with Paige's shot glass. Emily was ready to take the shot before someone among the crowds yelled, "COPS!"

Screams filled the entire house. People franticly trying to run and escape from the cops. Emily looked back at her friends. Panic settled in.

"RUN!" Paige yelled at them. Paige looked at Patrick and Shana, signaling them a nod before she grabbed Emily's hand and tugged it. Paige led Emily and her friends through another set of doors so they can access the backyard. They started running away from the house, deeper into the darkness.

"Wait!" Emily said, still frantic.

* * *

**Let me know what you think. Review it. PM me. Favorite it. Follow it. Until next time.**

**Cheers**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you for all the PM, reviews (guests, Marmoreck, bamupr, valentina1924, and EndWorldPeas), favorites, and follows. I swear I read every single one. I'm very excited that people are still interested in this story. I'm not the great writer so please forgive me for mistakes in the chapters so far. I decided that I should speed up with the story, but not rush anything. So don't worry. **

**Enjoy**

* * *

"Wait!" Emily said a bit louder now. She has no idea how long they've been, but she had to catch her breath. Paige obligated and stopped. Emily was breathing heavily in and out, causing Paige to look and laugh.

"What?" Emily managed to say in between her unsteady breathing.

"That was exhilarating!" Paige said, breathing heavily like Emily.

"You're kidding, right?!" Emily said. However, Paige was right. Emily felt a rush that she couldn't really explain at the moment, but she felt liberating. Paige just shook her head and continued to smile at Emily. Emily was still trying to catch her breath when she noticed that Paige was still holding her hand tightly. Emily's hand started to tingle again, but this time, it wasn't the effects of alcohol. She yanked her hand out and placed both hands on her hips. Paige did notice, but she was still feeling the thrill of running away, from the party, to say anything about it.

"You know? You need to loosen up a bit." Paige said as she looked around to see if anyone followed them.

"Running away from the cops, like this, is not my idea of fun." Emily frowned.

"They didn't catch us, right? So don't worry."

"I'm sure you're used to it." Emily mumbled under her breath, trying to figure out where they were by looking around also.

"Excuse me?" Paige said, arching her eyebrow at Emily, still trying even her breathing.

"Where are we?" Emily said, trying to dodge that look that Paige was giving her.

Paige stood up straight and let out one last heavy breathe. "Come on." Paige waved at her, as she started walking.

"Why should I go anywhere with you? I'm probably already in trouble because of your party. There were alcohol, weed, and drugs! We're underage!" Emily paced back and forth while Paige watched with amusement.

"I think I'm more safe to wait here and have my friends come to pick me up!" At this point, Emily was irritated and angry. She should have never came to the party in the first place. She has _never_ run away from law enforcement officers. This was definitely her first time. If her mother heard from another officer that he saw Emily there, at the party, her mother is going to kill her. "Oh my god, my mom is going to kill me. She works at the station!" Emily was in full panic mode now.

Paige smiled and said. "One: you can't call _anyone_ from this side of the woods. Two: you can stay here and wait for _someone_. That's fine by me. Creepers come out at this hour of the night anyways. Maybe you can get some help from one. And three: if anything, you won't get into trouble." Paige said, smirking at Emily. "You're pretty cute when you're paranoid."

Emily couldn't believe how Paige was acting. It's like she was so sure that nothing was going to happen to them.

"Now, come on. Your friends are probably waiting for us in the cabin."

As Paige walked away from Emily, Emily couldn't believe it. _She's seriously leaving me here?_ Emily looked around at her surrounding, noticed that they're completely surrounded by tall trees. There were no lights illuminating anything. It gave Emily an eerie chill. With the last shiver, Emily ran towards Paige. "Wait!"

With the sound of Emily's voice, Paige smiled quietly to herself. She didn't turn around to look at Emily, but she could tell that Emily was scared. There was no reason to be scared, Paige thought. This piece of property belonged to her family. No one is allowed to be anywhere on the property at this hour so it was pretty safe for them to be here now. She was trying to call out Emily's bluff. Emily was bluffing, Paige thought, relieved that Emily decided to follow her.

"Oh wow." Paige heard from behind her. She turned around and found Emily staring out towards the other side of the woods. Paige stopped and walked back to Emily's location. Paige stood next to Emily, and mimicked her position.

"What?" Paige asked.

"I didn't know there's another lake on this side of the woods."

Paige just nodded, understanding what Emily was saying. Rosewood is a small town. People know each other and everything about each other. However, in a town like Rosewood, there are also secrets, that are heavily guarded by the people from within. This part of the wood is one of them.

"Well that's because it's gated off. No one is allowed to have access to this side of the woods." Paige answered. She took in the sight and inhaled deeply. The freshness of the woods has always been one of her favorite scent.

"I love being in the woods, especially if there's a lake. There's something so peaceful and calm about it." Emily said. "I love the oak smell the most." Paige turned and looked at Emily. Emily looked so relaxed as she stares out into the water.

"Maya's family has a cabin and we go there sometimes." With the mention of Maya's name, Paige noticed that something flickered in Emily's eyes. Emily snapped out of her relaxed stage and straightened herself out before turning towards Paige. "Ugh, I don't know why I even told you that."

Paige chuckled quietly, tucked both her hands in her back pockets, and resumed walking with Emily. Emily still looked distracted. After a couple of seconds, Paige asked Emily.

"Does Maya disappoint you?"

"No. Actually sometimes, but I don't think she knows that she's doing it."

"And you feel…"

"I don't know."

"Do you love her?"

"Of course I love her."

"Okay. Let me rephrase that. Are you in love with her?"

Emily stopped and frowned. For some reason, those words sound so different coming from Paige. She turned and looked at Paige. Paige returned the look, still waiting for an answer.

"I don't have to explain my relationship to you." Emily said, harshly.

Paige just looked away, throwing both hands up in defensive, and said, "Okay."

They walked in silence for a couple more minutes before reaching the front of the cabin. Paige reached for the door and opened it for Emily. "Your friends are probably…"

Paige didn't even get a chance to finish her sentence before someone in the room said, "Paige McCullers. You finally made it."

Both Emily and Paige look over and a tall man was standing in front of them. Emily heard Paige curse under her breath. Instantly, Emily knew that this was not going to end well. Emily saw all of her friends standing behind him, gathered in one corner of the room. Paige's friends were standing in the other corner of the room.

"Detective Wilden. To what I owe this pleasure?" Paige let Emily into the room, before addressing the man standing before them. Emily looked at Paige as she cursed again under her breath. Paige had both eyes shut and her head was hanging down towards the floor. After a breath, Paige looked up and nodded towards their friends. Emily looked away and quietly walked towards the others. "How did you find me?" Paige said.

"It wasn't that hard. Your father only has a couple of properties in Rosewood and this is one of them." Wilden creepily smiled back at Paige. So this is Paige's family cabin, Emily thought. Emily looked at Wilden and then back at Paige again.

"Well then welcome Detective Wilden. Make yourself at home." Paige said back, not looking at him. Paige searched Emily and found her stare.

"Noel is at the station. I'm sure you know the routine by now." Detective Wilden said, as he walked passed Paige and headed outside.

"Paige! I texted you, but you never replied!" Shana said as she rushed to Paige's side.

"What the hell?!" Paige said. "How did Noel get caught?"

Patrick answered, "Things got to chaotic and he just disappeared."

"MCCULLERS!"A loud booming voice came from outside.

"Gotta go." Paige pointed to the door. Before turning away, Paige waved Patrick over and whispered into his ear. Patrick looked up at Paige and nodded. Paige turned and walked out of the door, shouting loudly. "Paige McCullers reporting for duty!"

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Spencer said, crouching down with her face in her hands. "Wilden saw us. We're done!"

Toby and Caleb looked at each other before both of them decided to consult Spencer. Lucas and Mona stood there lost for words. Aria quickly walked over to Emily, pulling Hanna with her.

"Where were you, Em?" Aria asked.

"I was with Paige. She grabbed my hand and we just ran. How did you get here?"

Hanna just pointed to Patrick. Emily looked at Patrick, who was quietly arguing with Shana and Jenna, on the other side of the room.

"He brought you guys here?" Emily asked.

"Yeah and so did Shana and Jenna." Hanna replied.

"This is all your fault!" Emily saw Spencer getting up and running over to where Patrick and the others were standing. Toby and Caleb grabbed both of her arms, preventing her from lurching herself at Patrick.

"Whoa! Chill, okay?" Jenna said, defending Patrick.

"Listen. Can we go home now?" Aria interjected, walking towards Patrick.

"Yeah." Said both Lucas and Mona, shaking their heads at the same time.

"Ok. Calm down. Jeezzzz." Shana said out loud. "You guys are not going to get into trouble okay?"

Everyone turned to Shana, waiting for her to continue on. "Paige's old man is just going to give her a slap on the wrist. Happens all the time."

"What if Noel rats us out?" Spencer said.

"Yeah, he got caught. It's his chance to throw everyone under the bus." Toby said, backing up Spencer. "He could pin it all on us."

Jenna laughed as she walked over to Shana.

"Why are you laughing Jenna? This is not funny. Your boyfriend just got arrested." Hanna said.

"And? He's going to get a slap on the wrist too." Jenna said after she calmed down from her laughing.

"Must be nice to have rich parents in this town," Mona said quietly.

"Actually, it only take one of your parents to be mayor then you can do whatever the hell you want." Shana said back.

"No what I meant was that…." Mona shook her head. "…Noel's parents have money. They have power. Noel can do whatever he wants just like Paige and get away with it. Just like the mayor's daughter."

Jenna spoke this time. "Yup. Just like the mayor's son."

This time, Jenna got everyone's attention. Emily looked at Jenna with a shocked facial expression. _Wait…is she saying what I think she's saying?_

Patrick laughed. "Damn. That shut everyone up, didn't it?"

"What are you talking about, Jenna" Aria said quietly.

Shana and Jenna looked at each other and smiled. Shana answered Aria. "Paige's old man married Noel's mother. Got it?"

"Um…that's... Wait…when did this happen?" Emily stuttered, trying to figure out what are the chances that Paige and Noel are in the same family.

"Been that way for a long time now. Both parents are always gone so no one really knows what's up with the McCullers. " Shana finished.

Jenna added, "Noel didn't want to change his last name so he kept it. He stayed in Rosewood while Paige stayed in Philly. Since Paige got into trouble last time, her father thought it was a good idea to send her to Rosewood instead of keeping her in Philly."

"No wonder they're both trouble-makers. They're from the same family tree." Spencer said bitterly.

"Only by name, not by blood, Spencer." Lucas reasoned. Spencer shot him a look and Lucas just shrugged, not knowing why Spencer was upset that he said that.

"Alright. Let's call it a night." Patrick said, giving everyone some time to process what he or she all have experienced tonight. Patrick walked over to Emily and said, "I can get you a ride."

Emily looked up at Patrick, with a confused expression. Hanna jumped in and grabbed her arm, "Emily is not going anywhere with you!"

Patrick shook his head, exhausted from tonight's events. "Look, I can give you and all your friends a ride. It's dark and late. That's all."

Emily thought about the offer for a while, looking back at Hanna and Caleb. Caleb shrugged at Emily, telling Emily that they should take the offer.

* * *

The drive was a quiet one. Emily sat in the front, while everyone else piled in the back. It was late so everyone decided that it was safer to crash at Spencer's for the night. Plus, they didn't trust Patrick to drive them all individually home this late in the night.

Emily thought about the conversation that she had with Paige earlier in the woods. She was troubled by the fact that she opened up to Paige that much and Emily barely knew the girl. That has never happened before with _anyone_. Even with her friends, Emily would leave one or two details out so they don't know that entire story. Emily loved her friends. They're good people and they're very protective of each other. However, being with Paige, Emily could just freely talk without thinking twice about her answers. It's probably the lake and the woods, Emily thought, plus the alcohol form earlier.

"Paige is a good girl." Patrick said, breaking Emily's thought.

"Uh? I'm sorry?" Emily said, looking back at Patrick. Patrick looked at Emily and laughed quietly.

"Paige. She's a good girl."

"I never got that impression from her." Emily answered.

"She's not like the rest of us. She doesn't do anything. She likes to have fun, but she's harmless." Patrick chuckled. Emily continued to look at Patrick, soaking in more information.

" Why are you telling me this?"

"Because…I think she likes you."

Emily was taken-back by what Patrick told her. She frowned and sat there silently.

"Yup." Patrick continued. "I just have this feeling. If she didn't, then why did she ask me to make sure you get home safely? Paige _has_ never done anything like that for _anyone _unless…_._" He raised his eyebrow.

Patrick looked sideways to make sure Emily was processing everything he was telling her. "Oh man. You'll see." Patrick teased quietly, as he continued to drive into the Hastings' residence. _See what?_ Emily thought.

* * *

It has been 2 weeks since the party and the school was still buzzing about what happened at the McCullers. Emily hasn't seen Noel or Paige at school for the past two weeks. It was very odd, she thought. Almost everything was back to normal, except for the feelings that were lurking in Emily's brain. Emily could still recall everything that Patrick told her during the drive that night and it made Emily unease for the next 2 weeks.

"Hey. What cha thinking about?" Maya asked, giving Emily a kiss on the cheek. Maya has been attending school regularly again, but Emily could still feeling like something is off, especially between the two of them.

"Nothing." Emily forced a smile. "How was your morning?"

"Oh, you know. Same old thing." Maya said. "Hey, I think I'm going to head home after my next class."

"Maya."

"What? Don't worry. I'll be back in time for my last class."

"You keep on disappearing during the day, _every day_. Plus you _never_ come back to school. " Emily said, feeling overwhelmed with everything and now this. "What's going on Maya? We never hang out anymore." Maya came and go whenever she pleased and that confuses Emily.

"Whoa, Emily." Maya said, trying to calm her down. "Chill."

"No. It's been this way for months. You're not trying." Emily sighed, feeling defeated. "Do whatever you want." Emily turned and walked away to her next class.

"Emily." She heard Maya called her, but she just dismissed it. She's tired of Maya's games and emotional roller coaster ride.

Walking into literature class, Emily's eyes immediately searched for Paige. No Paige today, Emily thought. No one really knows what happen to Noel and Paige after that night. The girls have casually discussed what could have happened, but Emily really wanted to know what happened to Paige. Shana, Jenna, and Patrick didn't really socialize outside their crew so no one dared to ask them for any information. Just like that, Noel came bursting into the room.

"It feels so good to be back!" Noel extended his arms, as Jenna walked over to him and hugged him.

Emily looked at the girls, wondering what's going on.

"Back so soon, Kahn?" Toby asked. "I was hoping that you don't come back for good."

"Aww. Don't be like that, Cavanaugh." Noel said.

"So what happened?" Lucas and Mona both said at the same time. Emily lend forward, interested in what Noel had to tell them.

"Well, I got 2 weeks of doing community services in the mornings and nights. Therefore, I was gone." Noel shrugged. " Paige got two more months."

"What?!" Shana asked in disbelief.

"She admitted to everything so they didn't push further. She took the wrap." Noel laughed.

"Noel what the hell?" Patrick spoke up. " You know Paige had nothing to do with that party!"

"Yes she does! It's her party!" Noel said, sizing ups to Patrick.

"She didn't invite those people. YOU did and THEY brought illegal stuff to the party!" Patrick pointed at Noel." You just let her take the fall?!"

"Hey, she should have kept her mouth shut. Wilden just said that he was going to take everyone at the cabin into custody and she freaked out! It was an empty threat! How am I suppose to know that she going to admit to everything?!" Noel shouted back.

"You're a coward!" Patrick huffed angrily. Emily was worried that another brawl was going to break out in Mr. Fitz's room again. "I'm outta here!" Patrick stormed out.

* * *

School was finally done for the day and Emily could breathe again. Her day was long and tiring. She tried to text Maya, but she got no reply. Emily hates it when they fight. No matter who's right or wrong, Emily is always the person that apologizes. On top of everything, Noel is back in school. His presence, alone, makes her nervous and irritated at the same time. She didn't want to deal with him and his problems or be dragged into his troubles. She nearly escaped it two weekends ago.

Now it's around four o'clock, Emily thought maybe she should swing by the police station and visit her mother. Maybe they both could go out for an early dinner? Emily and her mother are very close. They share everything with each other and Emily was glad that she could have a parent who is dependable and supportive when her other parent, her father, is not around.

"Hey, Emily." One of the officers greeted. "Staying out of trouble?" Emily gave back a weak smile and replied, "Yeah."

"Your mother is just in the back. I'll get her. Want to wait for her at her desk?"

"Yeah, sure. Thank you." Emily never felt comfortable at the police station. Whenever she was there, she felt like she's in Principal's Carson's office. Not that she has been, but she could imagine that it felt like this.

She weaved through an area of desks before she saw a figure sitting next to her mother's desk. Emily tightens her grip onto her bag as she walked closer. _What is this? _Emily couldn't believe her eyes as she stopped in front of the desk and cleared her throat.

The familiar pale face was still occupied, diligently trying finish writing before asking Emily. "I'm sorry. I'm almost done. Just have to…" Paige trailed off as she saw who was standing in front of her. Paige just stared at Emily before finding her voice again. "Emily."

* * *

**Let me know what you think. Review it. PM me. Favorite it. Follow it. Until next time.**

**Cheers**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Alright. Here's the next chapter. I don't know how I feel about this chapter because Paige has more of a personality in this chapter. It could be a good thing or a bad thing. Hopefully a good thing. I also changed the pace of the story too. Hopefully that's a good thing too :)**

**Thank you for all the reviews and thank you for following this story. **

**StagHen****: Thank you. Hopefully this chapter would you some more info on Paige and who she **_**could**_** be in this story ;) **

**saii79****: Patrick was a character in another fan fiction I'm reading and I thought he would made a good addition to Paige's group of friends. **

**kawaii****: You will see in this chapter if Mrs. Fields like Paige **

**Lastly, thank you to all the guests who reviewed chapter 5. I will try to update as soon as possible for you guys. In the next couple chapters, there's going to be some drama and A LOT of Paily stuff. So please stay tune.**

**Alright, let's get to it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

"Emily. What are you doing here?" Paige couldn't believe that Emily was standing right in front of her, staring back at her. For the past two weeks, Paige has tried to keep her situation hidden from everyone. Even Shana and Patrick didn't know what has happened to Paige after Detective Wilden picked her up that night.

Paige took the plea bargain since her stepsibling let her take the blame. She had no idea that there were illegal substances at the party until Wilden told her his unit found some at the house. Paige just wanted a small get-together, but Noel decided to invite everyone. She had no intention for the party to get out of hand. She lost control of the situation and look where it got her this time.

When her father found out, he went ballistic. He didn't want people to find out that he couldn't control his own daughter. You know, politics? The perfect family man that the people place their trust in. How can you have the perfect family image when your daughter is constantly in trouble? Luckily for her, she got off easy this time. All the negotiations were made in private; nothing got leaked out to the public. For the next two months, she has to help out at the Rosewood police station, doing whatever that is needed. It would be mostly paper work, basically busy work, according to Paige.

"I'm here to visit my mom." Emily said, looking pass Paige.

Paige made a face and pointed to the desk that she's sitting next to. Emily nodded and Paige made an 'ohh!' face.

"Emily. I'm getting off in 15 minutes. Okay, honey?" Pam Fields gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek before grabbing more files from Paige's desk. Paige stood up immediately and greeted Pam. " Paige, are these done?"

"Yes, ma'am." Paige said, looking at Pam.

"Okay. Emily, wait for me here?" Pam asked, walking away quickly and disappearing around the corner. Emily nodded. Paige sat down and folded her hands together on the desk, not knowing what to say to Emily to make the situation less awkward. Out of all places, Emily Fields is sitting here with her and Paige still couldn't believe that this was happening.

"How are you?" Paige began, breaking the silence.

Emily looked up at her and replied, "Okay," before looking down again. Paige nodded and looked away also.

"Ahhhh, Emily Fields. Are you here to visit your 'connection'?" Paige looked over towards the voice and found Wilden walking to them.

"Excuse me?" Emily said, frowning slightly.

"You're lucky you have a friend who took the fall for you kids." Wilden said, in a tone that Paige didn't like at all. " You think you can get away with it? One of these days, I am going to get you and your friends."

"Wilden. Aren't you being a little pathetic right now?" Paige said as she kicked up both her feet onto the desk. "Go pick on someone your own size."

Wilden looked over at Paige and pointed at her. " You're lucky you're the mayor's daughter." Before he left, he shoved Paige's crossed feet off the desk. "Show some respect." With that, he huffed and walked away.

"You didn't need to do that?" Emily said, once Wilden was out of sight.

"Do what?" Paige leaned back in her chair and looked at the ceiling.

"I can stand up for myself."

"I wasn't defending you." Paige insisted, not facing Emily.

"I know that you took the wrap. Noel literally confessed in class that his friends brought illegal substances to your party. You had no idea." Emily tried to get Paige's attention, but failed.

"It is what it is." Paige shrugged. "I just couldn't resist pissing off the detective of Rosewood when he took me in. He's a dick." Emily tried to stop herself from laughing, but failed and snickered.

Paige couldn't help but think about what Wilden accused Emily of earlier. "What he said earlier? What was that about?" Paige finally looked back at Emily, wondering what was the story behind Wilden's accusation.

Emily's laughter stopped and her smile disappeared. Paige immediately regretted bringing up the subject, especially when they just gotten out of the awkward silence. Now the tension is back.

"It's about Alison DiLaurentis."

"You know what? I want to hear more about Noel and what happened in class today?" Hoping that Paige changes the subject quickly enough so Emily wouldn't get more upset over this Alison girl. " I have been absent for a couple of days. I don't think I'm going be a contender for the perfect attendance award anymore." Paige shook her head in disappointment.

Emily laughed again. "You've missed more than a couple of days. Beside that award belongs to Spencer Hastings anyways."

Paige smirked at Emily. The girl got a damn cute smile, with dimples, Paige thought. She has never noticed it before, but now she was memorizing that smile in her head.

"Noel came to class today and he told your friends about what happened. Patrick got extremely upset because he couldn't believe that Noel would do that to you. Things got pretty heated and Patrick stormed out."

Paige smiled. "Patrick. He's a loyal friend, always got my back." Paige was saying it more to herself, but Emily heard.

"I like Patrick. He's better than Noel." Emily said.

"Well, I had no choice with Noel. He came with my father's second marriage." Paige said, smiling at Emily. Paige enjoyed this. It's nice to sit and really have a conversation with Emily. They flow together easily. Having her friends or Emily's friends around always seems to cause a lot of tension. There was no tension here, right now.

"Okay, Emily. Ready?" Their conversation was ended when Pam returned.

"Yeah." Emily smiled at Paige before standing up and looking back at her mother.

"Oh. This is Paige. She's helping out for the next two months." Pam said, introducing them.

"Yeah, we have Lit class together, mom."

"Oh okay. Let's go Em. Paige, can you finish the rest up tonight?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Paige, you've been here for two weeks, I think we're over the formalities. Call me Pam."

"Yes ma'am." Paige insisted again.

Pam smiled sweetly at Paige and turned to Emily. "Come on, honey. I'm starving."

Emily turned and smiled at Paige before following her mother out of the police station. Paige sat down at her desk, stared as Emily walked further and further away, and couldn't help but think about Alison DiLaurentis.

* * *

"Thanks, Alfred." Paige opened the car door and got out. She was feeling like a teenager again. Being around her peers and being at school is way better than doing paper work at a desk all day. She stretched both her arms over her head and breathed in the air, preparing herself for her first school day back from getting into trouble.

She walked into Mr. Fitz's room and immediately all eyes were on her. She saw Emily first and smiled slightly. Emily sat with wide eyes like she just saw a ghost. She walked passed all of Emily's friends, was greeted by Patrick.

"Welcome back, bro. Where the hell have you been?"

"I'll tell you later." Paige smiled, giving Patrick a fist bump.

"Sis. Lovely to have you here today."

"Noel," Paige said flatly.

"Aww. Don't be that way." Noel said smiling, "Sorry I haven't been home lately. Jenna likes the condo better."

Paige didn't let Noel get to her. Along with the house and the cabin, Mayor McCullers owns a condo and a studio space in downtown Rosewood. Since their parents aren't around much, Noel and Paige both agreed to stay wherever they pleased separately. As long as they were out of each other's way, they could do whatever with the properties.

"Attention everyone. Since Paige is back with us today, I thought it's a good time to assign you guys your first writing project." Mr. Fitz said, pointing to the stack of papers on his desk. Everyone groaned when Mr. Fitz continued. "The first assignment to write and discuss about the different themes in 'The Great Gatsby.' I know that _all of you_ know this story. If you haven't seen the movie, then watch it to help you better understand the plot. Please put forth some efforts you guys."

Mr. Fitz turned around and wrote down key points on how to analyze different themes in literature. Paige decided to zone out for the reminder of class, paying no attention to Mr. Fitz. She quickly glanced back at Emily. Emily was looking down at her paper, doodling something. Paige turned her attention back to the front of the class. Five minutes later, Paige glanced back again. Emily now looked like she has fallen asleep for some time and Paige couldn't help, but smiled quietly to herself.

"Stare much?" Shana whispered into her ear, startling and causing Paige to jump a bit.

"Shit!" Paige mumbled under her breath.

The bell rang and it was time for Paige to bolt out of class to go meet Alfred. Paige stood up and gathered all her stuff before looking back to Shana. Shana rolled her eyes at Paige. Paige could see disappointment and annoyance behind Shana's facial expression, but Paige could care less. She will do whatever she wants to do and it's no one's business.

"Later guys" Paige said. Everyone nodded back.

"Paige. Kickback at the cabin. Friday night." Noel said, throwing his arm around Jenna's shoulder. "It's chill this time."

Paige turned, waving her hand, and not giving Noel an answer. She'll see if she feels like going Friday night. Now, she has to run over to the police station and continued her hours of community services.

* * *

Paper work was piling up and Paige was getting buried with reports. She looked at the clock. 8:30 p.m. Maybe she will stop by the cabin and just hang out. She missed hanging out with her friends and doing whatever they wanted. Being in this police station for the last three weeks was driving her crazy. There's so many rules and regulations, she felt smothered by them.

The only nice thing about work is working with Pam Fields. Pam's a nice and kind lady. She's very soft-spoken and understanding. She's also patient and nurturing. Talking to Pam Fields was also easy for Paige. Pam never judged Paige nor asked her for details on why she has to perform community services for two and half months.

Pam quickly walked over to the desk, grabbed more files, and sighed. Paige was still trying to finish up as many reports as she could, but the stacks of papers were getting taller and taller. Friday nights are usually the busiest.

"Okay Paige. I think your work here is done for the night. See you next week." Pam said, looking more and more disheveled.

Paige was going to stand up and leave. She needed to go have some down time for herself, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to leave without asking Pam what's troubling her.

"Are you alright, Mrs. Fields?" Paige asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Pam forced a smile and look back at Paige. "No, I'm not actually." Paige didn't know what to do for Mrs. Fields. "Emily is not feeling well and I'm stuck at work. I don't know how she's doing because she's not replying to any of my text messages." Pam sighed, looking anxious and worried.

Paige nodded, still trying to figure out what to do in this situation. Before Paige could stop herself, Paige offered quietly.

"I could…check on her for you." Paige said, not sure if that was the right thing to say. "I'll tell her to text you back so you won't continue to worry about her." Paige followed up quickly right afterwards.

Pam smiled sincerely, "Thank you Paige." Before Paige grabbed her bag and headed out of the door, Pam said. "I don't care what anyone else says around here. I know you're a good kid, Paige." Paige stopped for a few seconds, smiled at herself, and walked out of the police station.

* * *

Paige knocked on the door again, trying to balance everything she has in her arms. _Did I get the right house?_ She wondered. Before she could knock again on the door, the door opened. Paige froze there, looking like a deer in headlights. Emily was standing on the other side, a blanket wrapped around her, giving Paige the same facial expression.

Emily spoke first. "What are you doing here?" Her voice croaked. Paige could tell that maybe Emily could have been crying earlier, which probably is the reason why her voice sounded so hoarse.

Paige composure herself before speaking up, "Is this how you treat all your guests?" Paige smirked at Emily. Emily looked over her and all the things she has in her arms. "Are you going to invite me in?" Paige made a face at Emily. Emily stared back at Paige, not sure how she feels about letting Paige McCullers into her house on a Friday night. Honestly, she just wanted some time to herself, not getting bothered by anyone.

Emily sighed, giving in. She moved aside and extended her arm slightly, pointing to the living room. Paige walked in, looked around the room. The television was on so Paige just assumed that Emily could have been lying around, trying to get some rest. Paige kneeled on the floor and put all the bags on the coffee table. Emily shyly walked over and sat down on the sofa. She carefully eyed Paige as Paige begun to pull things out and sets them in front of her.

"Okay, here's some soup. I didn't know what you liked so I got one of kind. Pick one. That's like eight choices. Here's Sprite and unsalted crackers. I did some Google research. It's recommended for people who are feeling under the weather." Paige continued to dig through the other bags. Emily just sat there and stared at the items on her coffee table, confused on why Paige was here and why she's being so nice.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Emily asked.

"I'm not."

Paige continued on. "I didn't know what you have so…I grabbed a bunch at the pharmacy. Tylenol, Advil, Thera Flu, Nyquil, and whatever." Paige shrugged. "Cough drops, Vicks vapor rub, and Emergen-C."

"Seriously, what are you doing here?" Emily asked quietly.

"Is this your way of thanking me?" Paige smirked again. "It's not very nice." Paige laughed quietly. " You should text your mother back."

Emily looked away with guilt, knowing who asked Paige to come. "She didn't need to worry. I can take care of myself." Emily looking down at her phone, typing away, and sent a text messages to her mother.

"Ugh!" Emily said, sniffling in frustration. "Why has she texted back yet?" She asked herself.

"Your mother?"

"No." Emily said sadly. "Maya."

Paige looked puzzled, struggling to think of something to say. "Where are your friends?"

"With their significant others." Emily said, apathetically.

"Here, sit." Paige patting a spot on the floor next to her, Emily obliged. "Try this. It will make you feel better." Paige passed Emily a container. "I'm going to try this one." Paige grabbed another container from the pile of soups. Paige watched from under her eyelashes as Emily obediently tried out the soup. Paige smiled shyly.

"Wanna talk about it?" Paige said absent-mindedly, playing with her soup.

"Maya and I kind of got into a fight last week and now Maya is not returning my calls or replying my text messages. She hasn't been at school either. I can't find her anywhere to talk to her." Emily said broken-heartedly.

"Please don't cry." Paige said abruptly, looking frighten. Emily looked up at Paige. Her face slowly changed into amusement.

"You're looking at me like I have a disease or something." Emily said, quickly wiping her tears from the corner of her eyes.

"No. I don't know what to do if you start to cry." Paige said, still examining Emily's face.

Emily sniffled. "Don't worry. I'm not going to cry, especially in front of you." Emily chuckled; finding the idea of Paige getting fluster very endearing. "You would make fun of me for the rest of the year."

Paige breathed out, looking less stress and more relieved. "Good." She looked over Emily's face again. "No one should ever make a pretty girl like you cry. _Ever_." Paige gently smiled at Emily.

Emily felt a sense of calmness with Paige. It was a strange feeling, she thought. What Paige said earlier resonated with her. Her words gave her warmth that filled a void Maya left with Emily. Paige took a couple seconds to stare at Emily before looking down at her soup that she was playing with. Paige cleared her throat.

"Um…Do you like the soup?" Paige pointed to the container. Emily's eye snapped back at it and said, "Yes. I do. Thank you." Emily sniffled again and smiled. "What else did you get?"

"Um…I don't really know." Paige laughed. "I just told them to give me one order of all the soups they had."

Paige could feel Emily staring at her but she didn't want to look up at Emily. _Why am I so nervous? _Instead, Paige pretended to be looking for something in one of the bags, trying to see if there was anything else that she has forgotten to pull out.

"Take some NyQuil when you're done. It should make you feel better in the morning." Paige took the medication out of the box. "Take it with this." She also opened the bottle of Sprite.

Emily finished her soup and pushed it aside. She took the NyQuil and sat back up on the sofa. Paige's phone began to vibrate on the table. She looked at it, but didn't pick it up.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be? It is Friday night." Emily said, looking down at her hands in her lap, feeling a little disappointed that Paige has to leave already.

"Nope." Paige lied, stood up, and sat on the other side of the sofa. Paige's phone vibrates again, but she refused to look at it.

"What? Paige McCullers not raising hell on a Friday night?" Emily looked shock, trying to not break and start laughing.

"HA. HA." Paige said. " I'm tired anyways. Staring at paper work and reports all day long wipes me out."

They stared at the television, not saying anything to each other. Thirty minutes later, Paige looked over at Emily, found her on her side, sleeping. Paige smiled. Emily looked so peaceful so Paige didn't want to disturb her. It was almost midnight and Mrs. Fields has not returned home yet. Could she still be at the station, Paige wondered. Paige thought she should leave once Mrs. Fields gets home.

Paige got up and started cleaning the coffee table. She threw away the empty soup containers and placed all the medications on the island in the kitchen. While she was in the kitchen, she finished washing some of the dishes and wiped down the counter tops. Once she was done, she walked over to the living room again. Paige fixed the blanket on Emily, pulling it up to Emily's shoulders. _Emily looks cute when she sleeps._ Paige took a mental note and smiled at Emily. She sat on the armchair instead of the sofa, giving Emily room so if Emily wanted to stretch out, then she could. She continued to watch whatever that was broadcasting on the television, but sleep was creeping up on her. Her eyes grew heavy and she was tired of trying to fight against it. Before she drifted off to sleep, she heard her phone vibrate once again, followed by a _bleep_.

* * *

_Bleep._

Emily was sick and tired of hearing this sound in her dreams. She couldn't sleep anymore. The consistent bleep has ruined her peaceful slumber. She opened her eyes and looked around. She remembered the television being on before she fell asleep, now it was off. Emily stretched her body out on the sofa, feeling better now that she has stretched out her cramped muscles. Something was beginning to fill the room. It was the smell of bacon, she thought. She threw the blanket off of her, bolted up, and ran into the kitchen.

"Mom?"

"Good morning honey. How are you feeling?" Pam sipped on her coffee.

"Better. When did you get home?" Emily asked, taking a seat at the island. "You didn't need to send Paige to check on me. I was fine." Emily lied. Pam turned around and stood on the other side of the island.

"I didn't. She offered."

Emily thought for a second what that meant, but it just made her more confused about Paige. Paige offered to check on her? Why? Why is she being so nice? Emily thought.

"I'm sorry I got home so late, but you were already sleeping so I didn't want to wake you." Emily nodded and smiled back. "Thanks for cleaning the kitchen. I was so tired yesterday, I didn't think I would be able to clean it after I got home, but it was taken care of already."

Emily made a puzzled face. "I didn't clean it." Pam looked at Emily again. "I was going to, but didn't get the chance. The medicine kind of made…" Suddenly Emily remembered that Paige was here last night. She stood up from the island and ran back into the living room.

Paige was sleeping in her living room! On her armchair! She was lying in a fetus position, using one of the armrest as a pillow for her head. She used her bomber jacket as a blanket, but only half of it was laying on her. Her feet were both dangling off the other armrest and her combat boots were lying on the floor in front of the chair.

"I didn't want to disturb her either." Emily heard her mother whispered from behind.

Emily walked and stood over Paige. She used one finger to poke Paige on the shoulder, hoping that that was enough to wake the girl. Paige didn't response. She didn't even stir. Emily poked harder; hoping this time, it would do the trick. Still no response from Paige. Emily frowned. Her patience was running low. It was morning and Emily was starving, considering she barely ate last night. So Emily raised her hand and pulled it down hard, slapping Paige's shoulder.

"OW!" Paige sat up immediately. "What the hell?"

Emily laughed because even though Paige sat up, her eyes were still closed. _I guess Paige is not a morning person. _Paige rubbed her eyes and raked her hands through her hair. She mumbled something inaudibly and fell back down in the same position. Emily laughed again and decided to poke her again. This time Paige's eyes shot open and she, once again, sat back up.

"Shit. What time is it?" Paige grabbed her phone. 6:45 a.m. 15 missed calls and 28 text messages. Paige buried her face in both of her hands, groaning.

"Good morning." Emily said, too chipper for Paige's liking. "How did you sleep?"

Paige looked up and gave Emily a face. "Splendid. Thank you." She retorted sarcastically.

"Paige?" Paige shot up from her seat and looked towards the kitchen. She still couldn't believe that she fell asleep at the Fields'.

"I made breakfast. Please stay and join us." Pam said.

"Yes ma'am." Paige said sluggishly.

Emily giggled. Paige raised her eyebrow at Emily. "What?" Paige was so polite around her mother; it was quite a sight Emily thought to her self.

Paige went to freshen up, composure her self, and gathered her belongings. When she came back, she was feeling herself again, more calm. She walked into the kitchen and found the Fields' ladies gathered at the island. Emily pushed a mug of coffee towards her and eyed the seat right next to her. Paige understood and took the seat. Pam smiled warmly and placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her.

"This looks really delicious. Thank you, Mrs. Fields." Paige said. "How are you feeling?" She eyed Emily.

"Better. Thank you."

Paige looked back at her plate of food and dug in. Pam sipped her coffee. "Thank you for keeping Emily companied last night, Paige. You didn't have to."

Paige replied shyly, trying to look distracted by her breakfast. "It was nothing."

"Emily can be a very careless girl sometimes." Pam started.

"Mom…" Emily uttered, telling her to stop embarrassing her in front of Paige. Pam got the hint and stopped. Paige smiled.

"How are you liking Rosewood, Paige?"

"I think I'm starting to like it here" Paige laughed, glancing subtly at Emily. "The altitude is much better here so it's easier for me to breathe when I run."

"You run?" Pam asked. Emily also surprised by that fact. Paige stood up from the island, gathered everyone's plates, and walked over to the sink. She turned on the water and began scrubbing the dishes. Pam protested, but Paige insisted and continued.

"Yes, I'm on the track team actually but considering my situation, I haven't been able to attend any meetings so far."

Pam nodded. Paige smiled back when she was done with the dishes. "Thank you for breakfast Mrs. Fields. I hope I wasn't a burden to you this morning. I should be going now."

"Thank you again, Paige." Pam smiled. "I'll see you Monday."

"Yes ma'am."

"I'll walk her out, mom." Emily put down her mug and walked Paige to the front door. Emily walked awkwardly, behind Paige. The more time Emily spent with Paige, the more Paige surprises Emily. Continuously. She wasn't the quiet girl who only smirks at Emily, but she also has a warm personality. Paige slipped on her bomber jacket and faced Emily.

"See you around." Paige said coolly, head out the door.

"Paige, wait. Thank you for everything."

Paige nodded in acknowledgement and walked away.

* * *

It felt so nice to be able to drive again. Ever since her situation, Mayor McCullers insisted that Paige been driven to and from school. To Paige, she was fine with it at first, but then she started to miss driving. Since she hasn't driven in a long time, she decided to take her motorcycle to school today. Paige has always had a need for speed and adrenaline. There was something about it that she couldn't explain. The idea of being independent and free appealed to her.

She speed through the parking lot and parked her bike in Principal Carson's space once again. Paige pulled off her helmet, set it on the seat, and looked around. Seen that Shana's car and Noel's car were not there yet, Paige decided to stand next to her bike and wait.

"Nice bike."

Paige looked over and saw both Caleb and Toby checking out her bike.

"Thanks." Paige found Emily's gaze instantly. "Emily." Paige smirked. Emily was wearing a white tank with a bright yellow blouse over it. She had on black skinny and black loafers. Her hair was wavy today, and brushed to one side. That yellow blouse really compliments her skin tone very well, Paige noted.

Spencer rolled her eyes. "Let's go Toby. I need to be early to Mrs. Robinson's class today."

Toby totally ignored Spencer and continued to quietly talk to Caleb about the bike.

Hanna said amused, "You must be a lady-killer, riding that bike around."

Paige looked at her bike and shrugged. "Girls ask for rides, but I don't give rides."

Emily curiously looked at Paige and found her staring back. Paige wondered what that look was for.

"Aww, you guys didn't need to wait up for us." Noel exclaimed from behind Paige. Paige cringed when she heard his voice. Noel walked up to Paige with Jenna, Shana, and Patrick by his side.

Spencer said under her breath. "This day just gets better and better."

"Okay, you guys are dismissed." Noel laughed, hugging Jenna to him and waving his hand at Emily and her friends. "Shoo."

Aria made a mocking face at Noel before grabbing Hanna and Emily's arm, pulling them away. Toby, Spencer, and Caleb followed closely behind.

"Noel, be nice." Paige said defensively as she grabbed her helmet from the seat of the bike and followed everyone else into the school. Patrick walked up and nudged Paige on the shoulder playfully.

"They might look sweet and innocent, but they're not. Jenna was blinded for awhile because of them." Noel said, in a matter-of-fact. Paige turned and looked at Jenna. Jenna nodded. "And they got away with it too. Justice is bullshit in this town."

Paige listened, reluctant to believe what Noel just said. Hurting another person by blinding them is a vicious act and Paige didn't believe that Emily and her friends could be capable of committing that act. There are always two sides to the story and Paige didn't want to jump to any conclusion.

"Hey, party at the cabin, this weekend again. Don't miss it, Paige." Shana said.

"We'll see. I gotta put in my hours for community services." Paige answered. " You know. I'm a very dutiful citizen."

Shana shook her head and laughed at Paige.

They all walked into school together, passing Emily and her friends. Paige eyed Emily, from the lockers. Emily caught her stare and looked back. Paige smiled, turned around, walked backwards, not breaking the connection with Emily, and gave her a beaming smile. She turned back around and disappeared with her friends down the hall.

"Ugh, Kahn always ruins my day." Aria said, lending against the lockers. After walking into the school, Caleb and Toby went their separate ways to their classes. The girls stopped by Spencer's locker to have a quick chat.

"Seriously." Hanna said, annoyed. "You guys want to go shopping today? After school?"

"I can't." Emily lied. "Gotta stop by the station."

"What are you even doing there?" Aria questioned. "You've been there a lot lately."

Truth is Emily liked spending time there especially when Paige was there with her. She's actually pleasant to have around. At school, Paige barely spoke to her, but at the station, it was different. When it was just the two of them, it was like no one else is around. Paige was easy to vend to, especially with everything she's going through regarding Maya. Emily needed that. She needed someone who was going to listen to her when her other support systems, her parents and friends, are not around.

Emily felt guilty sometimes because she knew that she was somewhat attracted to Paige, when she shouldn't be. However, she was drawn to Paige's sense of humor and personality. It was simple and natural. There's something about Paige that made Emily think about the girl non-stop lately.

"YOU." Spencer exclaimed at Emily. "I saw the way you were looking at Paige and her bike. You were basically drooling."

"I was not." Emily rolled her eyes at Spencer. She wasn't drooling, Emily thought. She was _intrigued_. She has never been on a bike before. She always wondered if it was as fun as depicted in the movies.

"You should focus on your relationship with your _GIRLFRIEND_." Spencer emphasized.

"She always does this, running away instead of working out our problems." Emily sighed in defeated. "This time I'm not going to be sad about it." She lied. She was hurt, but she didn't want her friends to worry. Aria and Hanna both look at Emily, impressed by her new attitude about Maya's hot and cold games.

"Let's go to class." Emily waved to her friends, trying to not continue the conversation about Maya.

* * *

It was Monday evening. Emily walked into the station, greeting everyone she passed by. She walked closer to her mother's desk when she stopped dead in her track. She stared at Paige as Paige was nodding off, trying to fight against falling asleep on the spot. Emily walked closer to Paige's chair and kicked her foot. Paige jumped and hit her knee on the desk. She groaned as Emily tried to hide her smile. "Emily."

"Falling asleep on the job? Tsk Tsk." Emily waved her finger back and forth. She took a seat at her mother's desk. "What? Late night last night?" Emily started pulling her textbooks and binders, displaying all her assignments on the table, feeling the sudden laziness taking over.

"Went out with Jaime last night. The girl won't shut up." Paige yawned, replaying last night date in her head. Paige looked over at Emily and her assignments.

"I thought you're with Jessica?" Emily felt a hint of jealousy and curiosity, when she questioned Paige. Why should she even be jealous? Paige could see anyone she wanted to. It's not like it's any of Emily's business.

"Nope. She was last week."

"Stephanie?"

"The week before."

Emily frowned in disgusted, making Paige laugh lightly. "What?"

"Do you have commitment issues or something?"

Paige laughed harder. "I don't want to be tied down yet." She turned the conversation to Emily. "How's Maya?"

Emily shrugged, looking a bit sad at Paige's question. Guilt crossed her face as she look at Emily. "Same." She said very dismissively.

Paige turned her attention to the vibrating phone that was going off in her pocket.

She looked down and saw the name displayed: Noel. Paige sighed and held the phone to her ear.

"What?"

"Paige. I need the keys to the studio."

Paige rolled her eyes. "No." She said flatly. Emily could hear the irritation in Paige's voice. Emily pretended to be doing some homework, but really, she couldn't help herself from over hearing the conversation.

"Paige. Please?"

"No."

"Paige, listen. I met this girl a couple of weekends ago, at the cabin. Smoking hot. I'll introduce you guys sometimes, but I just need the space for one night."

"That's gross, Noel. And no. What? Are you and Jenna done?"

"Not really. Listen, she doesn't have to know about this."

"Whatever, Noel. I'm hanging up."

"Wait, Paige. Don't ha…"

Paige hung up and threw her phone on the desk. She closed her eyes and sighed. Paige brought both hands up and massaged her temples. Noel can have any other properties that belonged to the McCullers, but the studio. The studio belongs to Paige and no one was going to touch it without getting her permission. The space was located on the second level of the coffee shop, in downtown Rosewood. She loved everything about the space and it was the first thing she claimed when she came to Rosewood. She was not going to hand it over easily to _anyone_ and let him or her borrow the space.

"Wanna talk about it?" Emily asked nonchalantly.

Paige opened her eyes and stared at her phone, debating whether or not to open herself a little bit to Emily.

"Come on. You listened to me about Maya. I'm a great listener. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Emily beamed at her. How can you say no to that smile, Paige thought.

"It's nothing." Paige shook her head. Emily studies her face closely and decided to not push it.

"If you say so." Emily shrugged, looking back at her assignment. "Are you, by chance, any good at math?"

Paige sighed and thanking God for letting Emily dropped the conversation. She pretended to be annoyed with Emily. "Let me see." She motioned Emily over.

* * *

"Hey, have you seen Emily?" Aria said from the other line.

It was a slow Thursday night at the station. Paige has a couple more reports to finish and then she was free to go.

"Hey, did you get my number?" Paige asked curiously, not registering Aria's tone of concern.

"I asked around. Hanna, Im-…"

"Paige? This is Hanna. Have you seen Emily today?"

"No, I haven't. What's going on?" Paige was getting worried now.

"We've been texting her all evening, but no reply. She rushed out of school earlier and no one has seen her since."

Chills ran down Paige's body as she hoped Emily didn't get herself into any sort of trouble. She quickly listed all places that Emily could be at in her head. "If I see her, I'll let you know. Okay?"

"Thanks, Paige." Hanna said before hanging up.

Paige tapped her finger on the desk, trying to figure out where to go first to find Emily. She stood up and grabbed her bag. Before rushing off, she wrote a note for Mrs. Fields, telling her that she will finish up the rest of the reports next week.

Since she didn't take any transportation to the station, Paige had no choice but run around town to find Emily. Paige checked downtown first. She stopped in all the retail shops and asked. She even stopped into all the coffee shop. No sight of Emily. Paige decided to run to school next. After running through all the halls, checking all the classrooms, and the gym, Paige ran to the next destination in her head.

She was in mid run when the light went off in her head. No wonder her friends weren't able to find her. Paige had a hunch and she decided to trust it this time.

It took Paige approximately less than thirty minutes to full-on sprint over to the woods. She stopped to catch her breathe for a couple of seconds, before running deeper into the darkness. The quicker she finds Emily, the quicker Paige would feel at ease. Paige looked around the woods to search for a silhouette, but her heavy breathing distracted her. She inhaled sharply before she spotted Emily from afar. Paige could breath again. _Found you._

Emily was sitting on the grass by the lake. Almost in the exactly same spot that Emily stopped at when she saw the lake for the first time from this side of the woods. Emily's back was facing Paige. She had pulled both of her legs up against her chest. Her head was resting on her knees. Paige took a minute to regulate her breathing and composure herself before she walking over to Emily. Paige was standing less than a couple of feet away when she heard Emily sob.

_Shit!_ Paige thought. She was debating on what to do for Emily. Paige was never good at comforting people, but she didn't like to see Emily this upset. Paige took a deep breathe before sitting down next to Emily. She looked straight out to the water, but she could feel Emily tensing up with her being so close. Emily sniffled; wiping her face with the back of her hands, and asked quietly, "How did you find me?"

Paige didn't answer. She continued to look out at the water. "I was in the neighborhood." She said, trying to lighten up the mood.

Emily continued to sob quietly with Paige sitting there. Paige hated this. Paige hated seeing Emily cry and she also hated the fact that she wasn't any good at comforting the girl. The only thing that Paige could do for Emily is to let her cry as much as she wanted, but not leaving her side.

"What happened?" Paige decided to break the silence and ask Emily.

"We're done. Maya and I." Emily said, trying so hard to not sound broken and devastated. She couldn't fool Paige. Paige raised her arm outward. She couldn't decide if a hug was appropriate at the moment so she just placed her hand awkwardly on Emily's shoulder. "I'm so sorry." She said quietly.

Emily continued. "She didn't even give me a reason why." Emily leaned closer into Paige and that made Paige frozen with panic. As Emily continued to cry, Paige tried to sit vey still, not wanting to disturb Emily from the devastation the girl was feeling. Paige thought that maybe she should try to comfort Emily somehow. She has to do something. _Do something! _Paige put her arms around Emily and hugged her slightly.

"It's her lost." Paige said soothingly. "I'm really sorry, Emily."

Emily slowly pulled back and wiped the rest of her tears. She sniffled and smiled sadly at Paige. "I shouldn't even be surprise honestly. Maya have been very distanced, but I was in denial, thinking that this will soon pass, and everything will go back to normal."

"Hey." Paige said, searching for Emily's eyes. "It's not your fault. I know you love her and you tried to make it work. You always talk about her, but I could see that she was really hurting you. You shouldn't waste your time and affection on someone like that. She's not worthy of your love." Paige gulped, hoping that Emily didn't see how sad Paige felt when Emily cried.

Emily looked back at Paige. Something about Paige tonight was different from how she normally looked. She seemed so sure and confident in what she was saying that Emily believed every word. They settled into an awkward silence. Emily cleared her throat and wiped away her tears for the last time.

"Thank you." She said softly.

Paige silently sat still, couldn't believe that comforting Emily wasn't really that difficult as Paige thought. "Can I tell you something?"

Emily nodded.

"Seeing a beautiful girl like you cry makes me very nervous." Paige sincerely said. "And I don't get nervous around girls." She chuckled shyly, looking back out at the water.

Emily sniffled, trying to dismissed the warm feeling she felt when Paige confessed. Emily laughed instead, "I know. I have that effect on people."

She appreciated the fact that Paige was trying to make her feel better, but she felt empty inside. Something was missing. Something was broken and Emily didn't want to feel like this ever again.

"Do you want to get some ice cream?" Paige asked, breaking Emily out of her sad deep thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Isn't that like the best remedy food for this type of situation?" Paige asked, playing dumb to cheer Emily up. "In movies, they always eat ice cream and cry together. You already cried. So let's get some ice cream."

Emily couldn't help but laugh. Adorable, she thought. Paige stood up first and wiped her hands on the front of her jeans. She extended a hand to Emily and Emily looked it. "Come on. Let's go." Emily reluctantly slipped her hand into Paige's. Her hand felt soft and warm under Emily's touch. Emily could have sworn she felt her heart jump slightly due to the contact. She got up and Paige quickly let go of her hand.

Paige pretended to look around so Emily wouldn't see her blushing. Her hands were getting clammy and her face was heating up. What the hell is wrong with her? She thought. She quickly tried to come up with something to say to distract her self, but the only thing she could come up with was...

"Oh and one more thing. You suck at replying to text messages, miss." Paige rolled her eyes and smiled.

* * *

**Let me know what you think. Please review it. PM me. Favorite it. Follow it. Until next time.**

**Cheers**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay, here's the next chapter. **

**I was very nervous to write this chapter because I want all the interactions between Emily and Paige to be written well. It's difficult for me to write when the interactions start to get more and more intense. However, I will try my hardest in future chapters. But for this chapter, I am happy with it and I **_**hope **_**you guys really enjoy it too. **

**And I also don't know how most of you are going to feeling about the direction I'm taking this story in, but I definitely think it's different. Good or bad, you decide but I hope the story will still keep you guys entertain. **

**PPL is back on tonight. Let's cross our fingers and hope that there will be some cute Paily scenes in the premiere episode.**

**Alright…lego!**

**Enjoy**

* * *

A week has passed since the break-up and the girls were still treating Emily like she's still a fragile piece of glass. Emily didn't like it at all. She didn't want the pity nor be babied by her friends. As much as it hurt, Emily was trying her best to just let the pain go. But how can you? Breaking-up is the worst thing in this world. Having a broken heart and being disappointed, all at the same time, was unbearable. Emily barely made it out of the first couples of days without wanting to break down and cry in front of everyone.

Her favorite time of the day was to go down to the station because Paige was Emily's distraction from the pain. With her schedule and Paige's schedule being so different, that was the only time Emily gets to see her. The soothing silence between them was what Emily enjoyed the most. There were moments where Paige didn't have to say a word and Emily was fine with that. Paige was the only one that did not treat Emily with caution. She still treated Emily the same as before the break-up. Nothing has changed much between them. She was still the same person of a few words.

Paige had a dry sense of humor and she was very blunt, two qualities that should never go together, but it worked for Paige McCullers. Emily has never met a person like that before. Paige kept Emily on her toes and the more Paige tries to push Emily away by being cool and collected, the more Emily wanted to be around her. It was a strange attraction. Even her own mother liked having Paige around. Every time her mother comes home from the station, it was Paige this or Paige that. Lately, Emily has been trying to figure out how she _feels_ about Paige because it was getting too complicate for her. She was not fully over Maya, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking about Paige all the time, especially after the night that Paige found her in the woods, crying. _Is she crushing on Paige?_

"Em. Are you listening?" Hanna waved her hand in front of Emily's face.

"Huh? Sorry." Emily replied. Hanna went back to her story.

Emily and her friends always gathered together for lunch everyday in the courtyard, sitting at their usual table. Even with the addition of Caleb and Toby, their table still remind very open. The courtyard was buzzing with people as the weather in Rosewood became relatively warm again.

Emily looked at her sandwich before picking up one half. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted Paige with her friends. They were talking and laughing in their exclusive group. From afar, Emily was taking in what Paige was wearing today. The girl has a great sense of fashion, Emily thought. Paige was wearing a loose grey tank with a red plaid shirt, and white shorts with her black combat boots. Her hair went down and it framed her face well, Emily thought.

Emily looked back at her sandwich and took a bite. She glanced back at Paige again. This time, a blonde girl approached Paige and she touched Paige on her arm. Emily felt a pinch of annoyance. She made a face and continued to watch their interaction. Paige smiled back and talked closely to the blonde girl. The annoyance turned into a nagging nuisance as Emily continued to stare. Emily became curious about who this girl was and what was her relation to Paige. Maybe this was that Jaime girl Paige briefly told her about a couple of weeks ago. Or maybe this was Paige's new girl she was seeing.

"Em? Your sandwich is falling apart." Aria said, pointing to it.

"What have you been staring at?" Spencer asked annoyed, turning around to find Emily's object of interest. "Ugh." She said once her eyes found Paige standing and laughing with the blonde. "I guess I should have asked _who_ have you been staring at?"

Hanna and Caleb snickered. "Busted."

Emily turned her attention back to her sandwich. She felt embarrassed, getting caught staring at Paige by her friends, once again.

"I know you've been trying to move on, but there are _plenty_ of fishes in the sea. Don't pick that one." Spencer said. Emily understood Spencer's concern. When it came to her friends, Spencer was the most protective and she doesn't trust people that easily. People have to earn their _trust_ from Spencer Hastings. That is how it has always been. No exceptions.

Hanna leaned over and whispered into Emily's ear. "She's hot. I would if she looked at me that way."

Emily looked back at Hanna, jaws dropped. Did Hanna really just say that? Emily chuckled in amusement.

Emily asked curiously, "In what way?"

All Hanna had to do was eye Emily up and down for her to understand what Hanna was suggesting. Emily blushed profusely, thinking to herself. Paige didn't look at her in that way. _Does she?_ Hanna was reading into it too much, Emily rationalized. It was nothing, Emily thought, trying to convince herself. It was too late for convincing as Emily's mind began to wander.

"You would?" Emily asked again amusement, eyeing Hanna. Emily glanced at Caleb, but he was paying no attention to the side conversation. Hanna shrugged and nodded.

"Hey." Before Emily could turn around and see who it was. Hanna beamed with excitement and instantly, Emily could guess who was standing behind her. Blood rushed to her face. Thumping beat against her ears. Chills ran down her back. She putted down her sandwich and slowly turned around.

"Hi." Paige said, smiling slightly.

"Hi." Emily said breathlessly. Speaking of the devil. What the hell was wrong with her? She gulped and found her voice again. "What you do want?" Cringing when her tone was rather rude than composed.

Paige's smile grew wider. "There's a new club opening in Philly this Saturday. If you guys want to come, just tell the bouncer out front that you're with Paige McCullers. They should let you in with no problems."

"Of course, we'll be there!" Hanna exclaimed, getting too excited.

Spencer and Aria both said, "Hanna!" Looking at her in disapproval.

Paige laughed. "See you guys Saturday then." Paige smirked and tipped her head. "Emily." Emily eyed her and nodded. Once Paige was out of sight, she turned back to face her friends.

"I don't think this is a good idea you guys." Aria said, sounding very small.

Hanna interjected. "Guys, this is the perfect opportunity for Emily."

"Me?" Emily was confused.

"Yes. You're going through a tough break-up. I can see that you still get upset over it." Hanna paused. "This calls for a girls' weekend!"

"No." Caleb shook his head. "We're coming with you guys if you guys want to go."

Toby agreed. "We'll keep an eye out for you girls."

"Okay, fine. I'm down. Aria?" Spencer asked.

"Me too." Aria beamed at Hanna, as she squealed excitedly.

Emily thought about it for a minute. She hasn't been single for a very long time and now here was her chance. She missed being with the girls and having girl time. Plus, she needs to get away from Rosewood for a couple of days and clear her head. She needs to find closure and going away, for the weekend, was a great start. She didn't want to mope over Maya or have her friends consult her anymore. It was time for her to move on and focus on what she wants in life.

"Let's do it." Emily said, getting anxious, but excited at the same time.

* * *

The girls all told their parents that they were staying at the Hastings for the weekend. Mrs. Hastings was the only one who truly knew where they were going. She didn't care where they were going as long as they stuck together and be safe. Plus Mrs. Hastings has known all the girls since they were little so she trusted them all very much.

Emily grabbed her bags and waited with Hanna in front of the Marin's house. Caleb was going to be here any minute, or that was what she was told an hour ago. Emily sat on the curb, playing with a strand of grass, trying to distract her from the anxiety she was feeling.

"Spill, Em."

"Huh?"

"You're making that face when you're thinking too hard. What's up?"

"Nothing." Emily insisted.

"Let me guess. It's complicated." Hanna laughed.

Emily smiled back and shook her head. "I'm just nervous. This is way out of my comfort zone."

"But it's exciting, right?" Hanna asked. "Don't worry. You're single and you're ready to mingle. I'll be your wingman…or…wing-woman? Or?...Whatever." Emily laughed.

Caleb slowly came down the street and parked in front of the house. He rolled down the passenger's side window and shouted. "Ready, girls?" Caleb got out of the car and ran around the vehicle, opening the car door for them. "Toby just picked up Spencer and Aria. They're on their way already."

Emily climbed into the backseat as Caleb grabbed all their bags and put them in the trunk. Hanna climbed into the passenger's seat and closed the door. She began to dig around, looking for something.

"What are you looking for, babe?" Caleb asked while concentrating on driving.

"Where's my Britney Spear CD?" Hanna asked.

Emily looked out of the window and tried to get herself to relax. This was different. It was different, but it was also very exciting. Hanna was right. She didn't need to worry about anything right now. All of her friends are going with her to Philly and they are all going to have a great time. That's all she should be worried about. Nothing else. Especially not over Maya.

* * *

"I'm worried, Hanna!" Emily hissed angrily as they waited in line. She was wearing this violet strapless dress that Hanna gave her to wear when they were back in the hotel room. Emily paired it with black heels and a silver clutch bag. As Emily walked, the dress rode up a little higher and higher. Now she was standing in line, stretching out the dress, hoping that it would become longer magically.

"Em, you look great. Don't worry." Toby said, reassuring her. Caleb gave her a thumbs-up also. If both boys said that she looked good, then she has nothing to worry about. Yet, she wasn't comfortable with the length of the dress.

"See? You're a knockout Em. Don't worry." Hanna was looked around, hoping the line would proceed quicker. "Beside, showing a little bit of skin is not going to kill anyone."

Once they got to the front of the line, Toby whispered something in the bouncer's ear. Everyone else waited around to see how the bouncer was going to respond. The bouncer was a bald mid-age man. He was tall and bulky with tattoos covering both of his arms. Toby stood next to the bouncer, but the bouncer looked twice his size. The bouncer lifted the velvet rope, motioning them to head inside. Toby grabbed Spencer's hand while Caleb grabbed Hanna's. Aria and Emily both linked their arms together and followed the other two couples in.

Emily and her friends have never seen anything like this before. The lights were turned down low and the A/C was blasting. Music was blaring to the point where they needed to shout into each other ears to be heard. People were swarming around dancing up against each other on the dance floor. Bartenders were performing tricks and asking people if they needed more drinks. There were dancers up on poles all over the establishment. Security guards were dressed in suits, standing at every entrances and exits. Judging by what some of the other female club-goers were wearing, Emily felt relieved. What she was wearing was at least _something _compared to the other females in the club.

The hostess walked up to Toby and motioned him to follow her. The lady led them closer to the stage area, where the DJ was doing his set. Next to the stage was a lounge area. Emily saw Noel, Jenna, and Shana first. They were all dancing by the DJ's area, not paying any attention to anyone else. Then Emily spotted Paige immediately, even though it was really dark in that corner of the club. Paige was sitting in the middle of the booth, talking closely with that blonde girl Emily saw her with at school. Patrick leaned over to Paige's other ear and pointed in Emily direction. Paige tore her eyes from the blonde girl and stood up right away, smirking.

Paige was wearing a skin-tight red dress. It was plain and simple, but Emily really liked that dress on Paige. Paige's hair was half up and down. She had on a silver bangle and silver loop earrings. Emily would have never pegged Paige as a girly girl, but Paige could really pull the look off. Paige looked smoking hot and she was heading towards Emily. Hanna nudged Emily's shoulder, smiling.

Paige grabbed Emily's arm and pulled her closer. Emily felt Paige's warm breathe next to her ear. "Hey, you made it!" Emily's head was beginning to spin and her heart was beating wildly. A scent of peach and flowers reached Emily's nose as she breathe in Paige's perfume. The scent made the hair on her arms stand up with chills.

Emily smiled and leaning into Paige's ear. "You clean up well!" Paige shrugged. Paige pulled back and looked at Emily's face. Their faces were merely a couple of inches away from each other when she looked down Emily's face and stopped at her lips. Don't do it, Paige thought. Paige herself was trying to figure out where the boundaries lay with Emily, now that she's single. Emily was fair game, she told her self.

Paige flickered her eyes back to Emily's face and smiled. She prayed, in her head, that Emily would give her a sign. Any type of sign. Should she cross those lines? Or should she forget about them? Emily didn't know what that look was, but she could have sworn that Paige wanted to kiss her at that moment. Emily was so caught up in the moment that now her imagination was playing tricks on her or so she thought.

Before Paige could lean in and break the silence. Emily felt a hand pulling her towards the dance floor. Emily refused to take her eyes off of Paige as she stumbled away. Paige smirked back, but this time, Emily returned it with her own smirk. Paige was caught off guard and taken back. Was that a sign, Paige was trying to decide.

Emily was being bolder, Paige could tell. Ever since the break-up with Maya, Paige has noticed a slight change in Emily, especially when Emily was around Paige. It was a whole different side of Emily Paige has not seen yet or thought existed. The old Emily would have never smirked back. The old Emily would have dismiss it or look away. This Emily just taunted her back. No one has ever smirked back at me, Paige thought. Is Emily teasing her? _Two can play that game. _

Paige turned back around and sat with Leslie again. Leslie has been openly flirtatious with Paige the past couple of days. Paige had no intentions on inviting her tonight, but when Leslie introduced her self, that day during lunch, Noel thought it was a good idea to extend an invitation. Now she was here and she was lurking into clingy territory. Paige didn't like that at all, but Paige couldn't just abandon her. After all, she did come out with Paige and her friends. Paige sat there, but had no interest in what she was trying to tell Paige. She poured herself a drink and watched across the dance floor to catch the eyes of a familiar face.

Emily has never had this much fun dance with her friends. The environment was on another level. Emily has never felt energy like this. No one cared what she or her friends did on the dance floor. Everyone was happy and enjoying himself or herself. They were all having a great time. The vibe was contagious. This was what Emily needed. She needed to be carefree for a couple of hours and worry about things later. This is her time to be free. To be daring. To be young. To be wild.

Emily felt an arm snaked around her waist. Since the club was pack with people, Emily forego many little body touches, but this was not something she wanted. She turned around and found a young gentleman trying to dance with her. Emily shook her head and said no, but he gripped tighter around Emily's waist. Emily tried to push him off, but failed. Emily started to panic. Out the corner of her eyes, she saw Paige motioning the guy towards her. She shouted, "She's with me!" The guy looked at Paige closely before he threw both hands up in an apologetic way and danced away.

Paige faced Emily and smiled. Emily felt relieved. Paige leaned in and joked. "That's what happens when you look so attractive tonight!" Paige placed one of her hand softly on the smalls of Emily's back, but didn't pull her in closer. Emily put both of her arms around Paige's neck and teased back.

"So you think I look attractive?!"

"No! I think you look absolutely breath-taking!"

Emily laughed, leaving her arm around Paige's neck. _Be daring_. "Dance with me!" It was more of a command than anything, but Emily knew that Paige was going to listen. Paige pulled Emily closer by using her arm that was already holding Emily.

Emily couldn't believe that she barked an order to Paige on the dance floor. Tonight, Emily was feeling great and she just want to have some fun with Paige. Paige was the hottest girl in the club, so of course, Emily wanted to dance with her.

At first, Paige didn't really know what she was doing. She has never danced this close with a girl before, but since Emily asked, she will try her best. Beside, it was Emily Fields who she was dancing with. Paige didn't want to look like a fool. She didn't want to do anything stupid in front of Emily so Paige swayed to the beat. They both were swayed in sync by the next dance song the DJ played. However, every now and then Paige would bounce off beat. Emily laughed, causing her arms to pull Paige in closer.

Paige was being absolutely adorable and very attractive tonight. Emily couldn't help it by try to push it a little further with Paige. _Why not? _It's just flirting. It's harmless, she thought.

Emily slowly pulled one of her arm down Paige's back while dancing. It wasn't intentional but Paige felt goose bumps rising all over her body. She couldn't help it. It was sensual. Emily's other arm pulled back but stopped by Paige's shoulder. Emily used her hand to trail up and down Paige's neck. Is this a sign? Paige wondered.

Paige instantly grabbed Emily's waist with her other hand. Paige was debating in her head how far should she tease Emily. Paige didn't want to jeopardize their friendship. Emily was not one of those girls where Paige can just brush off a couple days later. Things would be awkward. However, at the same time, Paige was not going to let Emily get away with teasing her. This was literally flirting with danger, she thought.

Paige snaked both of her arms around Emily's waist and hugged her closer. She let one of her hand slowly gazed the curves of Emily's bottom. Emily gasped unexpectedly, making Paige smile. Hearts beat faster and louder.

Emily knew what Paige was trying to do so she countered by sliding her hand to the side of Paige's face. She cupped Paige's face, forcing the girl to look at her while they're both dancing. Emily placed her leg in between Paige's thighs and moved her hips in a circular motion. Emily saw Paige's jaw clenched, trying to fight against the tension Emily was created against Paige's thigh. Bodies were heating up.

Paige took a minute to forced her to focus on something else, not on the fact that Emily was grinding against her. _She's going to be the death of me._ Paige thought to herself, this was it. She has one more move left that could stop all of Emily's teasing. Paige looked down their bodies and watched the way Emily's was moving against hers. Sensations were traveling all through Paige's body and desire lit up behind her eyes. This game is out and over, Paige decided. She wants to push _all_ boundaries with Emily. She doesn't care anymore. She wants to give into her desire of kissing Emily.

Paige looked back up at Emily, and licked her lips. Her eyes traveled down Emily's face and stop right on her lips again. Emily's lips curled into a shy smile and Paige didn't want to take her eyes off of them. Paige pulled a hand up and placed it on Emily's cheek. The room was spinning and all Paige could focus on was the girl in front of her. Paige saw an instant blush coloring her cheeks. She slowly inched closer and closer to Emily's face, but refuse to go any further. Emily looked down Paige's lip and crept toward. All noises were droned out and all Emily could hear and feel was Paige breathing against her lips.

Paige felt Emily tensing up and stopped dancing. Emily stopped looking at Paige all together. Paige looked into Emily's eyes, searching for a reaction, but Emily glanced pass Paige. Paige turned around; her heart stopped beating and sank. Paige could feel all her blood draining from her face. Emily was staring straight at Maya.

Of course, Maya was here, Paige thought. And she was talking with Leslie, out of all people. How ironic. Paige stood up straight and dropped both of her hands in disappointment. Emily couldn't believe her eyes. All excitement disincarnated and confusion took control.

Maya was here in the club, in Philly. What are the chances? Before Emily could think about what to do next, she grabbed Paige's hand and pulled her away with Emily, out of panic. She didn't want Maya to see her there in the club. Please don't run into each other, Emily thought. They rushed to the hallway of the club, hidden from everyone's sight. Emily started pacing back and forth, breathing heavily in and out. Paige looked on, amused at the sight.

"Oh my god! What is she doing here?" Emily frowned, getting more and more stressed. "I was having so much fun and not thinking about her!" Old feelings were resurfacing. All worries were full-force pushed in front of her brain. Confusion clouded Emily's mind.

"Emily, Don't think about it." Paige said, getting annoyed. Folding her arm in front of her chest.

"I can't!" Emily said in frustration, still pacing back and forth in the hallway.

Paige looked on for another five minutes, trying to patiently let Emily calm down. However, Emily was not calming down. She was freaking out even more as time went on. Paige sighed, gathered up all her nerves, and grabbed Emily's arm. Emily looked at her arm, shockingly. Paige's hand imprinted an electric warmth that revived Emily's whole being.

Paige backed her up against the wall and pressed her body against Emily's slightly. Paige remembered to breathe. She placed one hand on Emily's waist, the other hand gripped Emily's wrist and pinned it over her head. She moved her face closest to Emily's without touching.

Emily was shocked and staring back at her with wide-eyes. Emily's blood started getting warmer and warmer. The rhythm of her heart was beating into her ears. Her head was getting lighter. Her body was getting tingly and numb. She could feel Paige's warm breath against her face. The intensity grew behind Paige's eyes as she watched Emily closely.

"Don't. Think." Paige said slowly, emphasizing each word. Emily stared into Paige's eyes, trying to read her. When she failed, Emily's eyes moved down to Paige's lips. Paige did the same and noticed that Emily was biting her bottom lip. Paige dipped her head and moved in a tad closer. Emily closed her eyes and Paige leaned all the way in.

The first soft brush made Paige's heart drop into her stomach and knock the wind out of her. Emily's head was buzzing at this point. Emily lend her head back to get some support from the wall as she began to feel like she was unable to stand up on her own. They both stood still, before Paige wanted to taste Emily's lips again. Paige leaned all the way in again, but used a little more pressure this time. Her hand let go of Emily's wrist and moved down to Emily's neck. She tugged slightly, urging Emily to move in closer. Emily tilted her head slightly so she could kiss Paige back, hard.

This is weird, Emily thought. Her body is still tingling. Emily has never felt these sensations while kissing anyone. She snaked her arms around Paige's back, pulling her closer so she could feel Paige's body pressed against hers. Even though she couldn't feel her own body, but she could feel Paige's and she like that.

Paige molded with her perfectly. It was not awkward at all. Emily opened her mouth slightly and bitted down on Paige's bottom lip. Paige moaned, encouraging Emily to continue to tease her. Emily could feel Paige smiled against her lips before capturing Emily's bottom lip and tugged on it. This time Emily moaned. Paige pulled back enough to lick Emily's bottom lips one last time. Emily still had her eyes closed. Breathing hard. She was trying to get her head to stop spinning and the buzzing to quiet down. She was literally out of breath, overwhelmed by the emotions she was feeling at the moment.

"Better?" Paige asked staring at her, smirked deviously.

Emily opened her eyes and stared back. She couldn't find her voice at all so she just nodded slowly. Paige chuckled and joked. "See? It wasn't that hard."

Emily still didn't say anything. Panic set in. Shit! Emily was freaking out, Paige thought. Paige waited again for a response, but Emily continued to stare, making Paige feel very small under the gaze. Conflict came next. Did she regret kissing Emily? No! But maybe she shouldn't have, Emily was still trying to get over Maya and seeing Maya here at the club obviously scared her so why did Paige have to make the situation even worse? Paige's smile disappeared with her train of thought.

"EM!" Hanna yelled, getting both of their attention. Paige moved back, putting some space between them.

"Maya's here. Let's go!" Hanna frantically walked to Emily and grabbed her hand. Emily opened her mouth to protest, but Hanna quickly yanked her in the opposite direction of where Paige was standing. Emily looked back silently apologizing for leaving so suddenly, but really, Hanna saved her in that moment. Paige stood there dumb-founded, not knowing how to react.

Emily and Paige's relationship has turned from friendship to what? What was that kiss? It was all just fun, right? What did it mean? All of these questions were racing in her head, but all Emily could think about was Paige.

* * *

The drive home to Rosewood was long and dreadful. Hanna won't shut up about how Maya showed up to the club and how weird it was. Honestly, the real question should have been 'how small is the world?' The one weekend where Emily didn't want Maya around, she shows up unexpectedly.

Emily lend her head against the car window and tried to drown out Hanna's babbling, but it was no good. Once they reached the Hastings', everyone piled into the guesthouse in the back. This was one great hiding spot for them; they had access to it whenever they wanted. On the plus side, they didn't have to interrupt anyone's slumber if they all have to enter through the main house.

On Sunday, Emily drifted through the day like a zombie. The girls were getting more and more concerned, but they just assumed that the reason why Emily was acting so odd was the fact that Maya crashed their fun. They had no idea what else happened to Emily that night and Emily didn't really want to elaborate.

When Emily stopped at her house that Sunday morning, her mother tried to have a conversation with Emily, but she was not feeling it. She answered with emotionless short answers like yes, no; it was okay, and etc. Pam shook her head, letting it go. It was probably teenager drama, Pam thought. Emily went up to her room and lay on her bed. She stared at the ceiling for the longest time. Not sure how to sort out her conflicted feelings with everything that has happened in the last twenty-four hours.

Emily sighed, thinking that the best way to distract her is to work out her frustration, literally work it out of her system. Emily changed in her running gear and grabbed her IPod on her way out. She ran downstairs and told Pam that she was going to go clear her head and run through the woods before it gets really dark.

Running in the evening through Rosewood was the best time. Everyone usually goes out for Sunday dinner so there were plenty of people around. Emily was plugged in. She was focused. She didn't let anything else interrupt her mind beside the bass that was beating through her headphones. Her pulse was beating louder and louder. Sweat forming and soaking her clothing. Step. Breath. Step. Breath. She chanted in her head.

The full moon illuminated the sky at the color grew darker in shades. Emily had to stop and catch her breath. She stared out into the water and pulled out her headphones. Both hands on her knees as she crouched over. Crickets chirping. Owls wooed in the distance. A gentle breeze rustled the luscious layer of trees. It smelled like oak. This is gorgeous, she thought. It was so peaceful out here.

"Hey! Get off my property!" Emily jumped, coldness flashed through her entire body.

She turned around; ready to sprint away before getting caught entering and trespassing. She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a booming laughter from the cabin. Emily was so preoccupied with enjoying the view of the lake that she didn't even take the time to see where she was. She was there. The same spot as always. Right there.

Emily walked up to the cabin and saw Paige standing, lending against one of the wooden post on the patio. Paige was trying to avoid heading back to town and running into familiar faces, so she decided to hide out in the cabin for one night. Standing out on the patio, catching the freshness of the woods, Paige would have never thought she would see a familiar silhouette again. She knew instantly who it was and she couldn't resist scaring the girl.

"Emily," Paige said.

It was dark and Emily could barely make out Paige's facial expression, but she could feel Paige staring at her, and for how long, Emily did not know. The awkwardness in the air was thick. Things were still in limbo-land with Emily and Paige. Both stood there in silence, not knowing what to say.

"What are you doing here?" They both said at the same time, both girls giving each other the same shock facial expression before laughing at the same time. Emily looked at Paige, waiting for her to give her explanation first.

"Well, this is my family's cabin." Paige stating the oblivious pointed back to it. "You?"

Emily looked back out to the waters again. She sighed before continuing. "I needed to clear my head."

"And you came here?" Paige questioned, wondering why.

"Yeah. I don't know why I always end up back here." Emily said, not sure if her answer explained anything to Paige. Paige nodded and struggled to find something to say. Emily was struggling as well as time passed.

"Can I show you something?" Paige asked out of the blue. Emily knotted her eyebrows together, not sure if she should accept or decline Paige's offer. It was beginning to get darker and Emily had to return soon so her mother wouldn't worry.

Paige chuckled, sensing that Emily was quietly debating in her head. "Don't worry. It will be quick."

Emily looked at Paige and nodded. Paige climbed over the railings of the patio and jumped down to Emily's level, landing on both feet.

"Follow me." Paige said, grabbing Emily's hand. Emily's eyes drew to their hands. Paige's hand was warm and a little rough, but it felt protective around Emily's. Emily looked to where Paige was leading them and she got concerned. They have walked passed the cabin, ducking under numerous trees, and Emily could see the lake getting further and further away.

"Where are we going?" Emily asked. Paige could feel Emily get weary so she stroked the back of Emily's hand with her thumb, hoping that the gesture would reassurance Emily.

"We're here." Paige stated. Emily dropped her hand and looked around. Wow was all she could think of saying. "This is my favorite hidden spot in the woods." Emily heard Paige say next to her.

It was a meadow in the middle of tall, towering trees. The grass was soft and thick. Emily felt the cool grass tickle her as she took small steps through the meadow. The sky looked so clear and the stars stood out against the contrasting dark sky.

"Come on." Paige motioned her over. Paige stopped in the middle of the meadow and lay down. Emily mimicked her actions, taking her place next to Paige. Paige has never brought anyone to this spot before, but she hoped Emily loved it as much as she does. Emily was the first. They laid in silent and looked up towards the sky.

"I love it here." Emily said, quietly. Paige smiled to herself, glad that she brought Emily here. Paige nodded. They continued to lay in silence. Paige closed her eyes, ready to drift of to sleep when Emily spoke up.

"What are we doing?" Wanting to know what Paige was thinking.

Paige opened her eyes and turned her body to her side, facing Emily. Emily was already on her side, looking at Paige. The two of them just stared. Paige shrugged, playing dumb. "Laying."

"No. That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean then?" Paige insisted again, trying to not have 'the talk' right here. Emily continued to intensive stare at Paige. Paige gave in, knowing that Emily would be bothered by 'the event' unless they sort it out right now. She decided to turn the table around, and focus on Emily.

"What do you want to do?" Paige asked.

"I don't know." Emily looked worry and troubled.

"Do what you want to do." Paige offered.

"It's not that simple, Paige." Emily was on the verge of crying and Paige could tell. Paige moved closer to Emily, still holding her laying position. Paige moved one hand up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind Emily's ear. That was a sweet gesture, Emily thought. Paige looked back to Emily.

"It is simple." Paige paused. "You're not over Maya and we kissed at the club. It's not a big deal." Emily searched into Paige's eye and found no emotion.

Emily sighed sadly, "I want to get over her." Paige nodded and said, "I know."

Emily continued, "But I don't want to jump into another relationship."

Paige retorted sarcastically. "Whoa Emily! Slow down. Just because I kissed you, doesn't mean I want to date you." Paige smiled, turning to look at the sky.

"This is not funny!" Emily felt like she was losing a battle. Paige can always turn a serious conversation into a joke. Emily really wanted to sort this out. She smacked Paige softly on the shoulder.

"Listen. You were freaking out and I didn't know what else to do." Paige said coolly, smirking. She should have thought about this before kissing Emily, but now it was too late.

"So it meant…?" Emily asked again, studying Paige closely. She felt a hint of disappointment when Paige said what she said earlier.

Paige took a minute to ponder about it. Paige insisted confidently, lying to herself, "Nothing." Since she has moved to Rosewood and met Emily, her whole focus always came back to Emily Fields. At that moment, she realized that she didn't like that. The kiss _did_ mean something, but at the same time, she doesn't want the kiss to change her.

Emily nodded. Her heart sank in disappointment. So they're still friends, Emily thought. She was relieved, but she felt something else too. Something she couldn't put her finger on. She turned so she could lie on her back and stared at the sky. She decided to dismiss it and think about something else since Paige declared that what they shared at the club had no meaning. _What did she want from Paige?_ That thought lingered in her mind.

"You must bring all your girlfriends here huh?" Emily asked, wanting to know.

"Okay. One. I don't do girlfriends." Paige shrugged. "And no. You're the first girl I have brought here."

"Liar." Emily said instantly, refusing to believe that she was the first. It was so ridiculous to think that she started to laugh.

Paige seemed to be amused by Emily also. She smiled and said. "Why is that hard to believe?"

"Because you're Paige McCullers. You have a different girl every week. Don't say you don't do girlfriends."

"Yeah, but it was nothing serious. When the girl wants the 'girlfriend' title, I move on. Next!" Paige proudly stated.

Emily turned and smacked Paige again. "You're horrible!"

Paige laughed. It was true. Paige doesn't do relationship and the whole 'girlfriend' thing. She could get any girl that she wanted, all fun and games, and nothing serious. Beside, there was no rush right now. Paige is a firm believer in destiny. When love wants to hit Paige in the face, then it will. There were no reasons for Paige to go out of her way to find love when it supposes to find her first.

When it came to Emily, Paige still doesn't know how to deal with it. Emily was different. Paige doesn't want get attach to Emily. She refuse let herself get attach. The girl will make her do things that she doesn't want to do and feel things that she doesn't want to feel. Paige didn't want any of it. However, Paige did have fun flirting with Emily last night and that kiss was memorable.

Paige stood up abruptly, startling Emily. "We got to get you back home, miss." Emily stood up too, looking at her phone. It was almost 9 p.m. Her mother might call her any minute and she won't be able to answer due to the area.

"I'll walk you back." Paige offered, tucking both of her hands into her front pockets.

Emily stood up and quietly followed. "So we're good? No weirdness? Still friends?"

Paige turned around and said, "Yup. We're still friends." Nothing has change, Paige insisted to her self.

* * *

_Friends._

Emily sat outside at their usually lunch table since one of her class got cancelled.

The courtyard was empty. The weather was beautiful. That word was running through her head as she thought about Paige. _Friends. _It has been two days since Emily and Paige has worked out their 'situation.' However, the conclusion of the conversation did nothing for Emily, but just confused her even more. Paige said that the kiss meant nothing but how could it be nothing when Emily _felt_ something. Still even if she felt something, what was she going to do? Deep down inside she knew that she somewhat still missed Maya and that was eating her alive, thinking about it.

Emily wanted to move on, but when she thought she was making progress, Maya showed up, and everything just fell apart. Emily hasn't seen Maya since Saturday and that was great. She could breathe with ease, knowing that Maya wasn't around.

God! She was so stupid. Falling for Maya, so deep and too quick. Sitting outside trying to be productive, trying to do her homework, but all she could think about was her ex-girlfriend. What hurt the most was opening up to that person, breaking down all walls, and letting Maya see the real her. Thinking what they had was safe, but it was Emily's mistake. She gave herself away too much and never got the same in return. Emily felt used. Now Maya doesn't want her anymore. The most pathetic part was that Maya still gets to her. Maya got to her at the club and she freaked out. Maya was getting to her now and she's not even at school!

"Hey, Emily."

Emily looked up. Patrick cheerful walked over, juggling a basketball in his hands.

"Why the long face?" Patrick sat next to Emily, setting the basketball down on the table. "Are you pondering about life?" He joked.

Emily gave a weak laughter. Patrick has no idea how right he was. "Um…I don't know. No? Kind of?" She was going to lie about it, but what was the point. She didn't want answer twenty different questions again, but she felt that Patrick was not that type of person. Patrick laughed and shook his head. Emily tiredly asked, "How do you get over an ex, Patrick?"

"Ohhhh." Patrick said, knowing what was troubling Emily. "Time?" Patrick guessed.

"Yeah? How much time?" Emily asked. Patrick looked at Emily for a second before looking away. He was getting uncomfortable just talking about the subject of exes. Patrick never understood why girls take longer to get over an ex. For him, it was easy, but he guessed that was the difference between guys and girls. Girls were more sentimental than boys in terms of relationship.

Emily could sense that she was asking the wrong person for advice so she changed the subject, hoping it would distract her from dwelling on Maya. "So, you play basketball?"

Patrick looked up and said, "Yeah. Just for fun. With my boys. And Paige." Emily gave him a curious look. Another surprise, Emily thought. Paige seemed to able to do anything and everything. What other thing can't she do?

"She plays basketball?"

"Yeah. She's actually really good. A little aggressive, but when you play against guys, you kinda need to be tough." Patrick said, proudly. "I taught her a thing or two."

Emily sat for a little bit longer, feeling like it was time for her to end to conversation. She gathered up her stuff. "I think I am going to go visit my mom at work."

Patrick nodded, stood up, and grabbed the basketball. He walked away, but stopped. He was debating if he should return to Emily and gave her some advice. He sighed, giving in. He turned and walked up to the table.

"I know you feel beyond broken right now. The truth is…you are and that sucks. It sucks when someone breaks you open and leave you vulnerable, but you're going to be okay."

"Thanks, Patrick." Emily said quietly. She decided to move in and give him a hug. Patrick returned the hug. He looked back at Emily.

"This pain is only going to be a speck in your world. Everyday that speck is going to get smaller and smaller compared to other things in your life. Don't focus on it. Look forward to other things in life." Patrick said. "See you around, Emily." He winked at Emily before heading off in the direction of the gym.

* * *

**Let me know what you think. Please review it. PM me. Favorite it. Follow it. Until next time.**

**Cheers**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Finally some cute PAILY scenes on PLL! And who loves sassy Emily?!**

**Now they just have to not screw with this pairing, but it is PLL so…I'm staying optimistic :)**

**Since writing this story, I have always been concern about my story-telling skills and how this story compares with other great fan fictions I'm reading. There are so many great Paily fan fictions out there that are well written and brilliantly composed. I can't help but think that this story is nowhere as awesome as those. Therefore, I REALLY appreciate all the reviews, PMs, favorites and follows because they're telling me that I'm doing something right at least. **

**I also hope that you guys don't mind that the chapters are getting lengthier, but I figured that it helps with the flow of the story.**

**All right, back to the story. Things are not going to be as intense like the last chapter, but hopefully it get intense again in the next couple chapters ;)**

**Stay tuned!**

**Enjoy**

* * *

Paige ran all the way to the station, trying to make it to her shift on time. Since she couldn't make it to any of the track meets, she has been skipping some of her later classes to play basketball with Patrick, Noel, and the boys. She figured that it was a great to keep in shape, besides running through the woods at night. Paige ran hurriedly up the steps, almost trip and face-plant. She weaved through all the desks, pulled out her phone, and checked the time. 3:57 p.m. Awesome! Three minutes before her shift will begin. She slowed down, wiped the sweat off her forehead, and continued her way to her desk. _What the hell?_

Emily was already there, sitting and diligently doing her writing assignment. She looked up, "You're late."

"No." Paige said in disbelief. "You're early. You're never here early."

Emily laughed quietly, turned her attention back to her assignment. Paige walked around her desk and placed her bag down. She sat and took a minute to catch her breath. Her heart was thumping loudly. She's way out of shape, she thought. She grabbed her water bottle from her bag and took a sip. Twisting the cap back on the bottle, she glanced at Emily again.

"What are you doing, here?" Paige asked suspiciously. "So early, I mean?"

"Doing my assignment."

"Ohh." Paige laughed. "Sarcastic, are we?"

Emily shrugged, continued to not look up at Paige.

"What's going on with you?" Paige was still curious.

"Nothing." Emily said, finally looking at Paige. "I'm focusing on me for once. It's kind of nice, actually."

That was all Emily had to say for Paige to understand. A couple of days ago, Patrick told Paige what happened when he ran into Emily in the courtyard. Paige was glad that what Patrick said resonated with Emily since no one else seem to be able to get through to her.

"Not hanging out with your friends today?"

"Nope." Emily paused. "I figure it would be a good idea to finish up the writing assignment for Mr. Fitz before I start to procrastinate."

Paige nodded with sympathy. She grabbed her bag and started pulling out her materials and supplies.

"Have you started on yours?" Emily asked.

Paige mumbled. "No. I should though." She was digging through her bag, hoping to find her assignment paper. No luck so far.

"Well, it's your lucky day. I want to go see the movie. And you haven't started on the assignment so…we should do that." Emily reasoned out.

"Do what?" Paige looked confused.

Emily rolled her eyes and answered vaguely, "We should go see the movie."

Paige stopped. "We?" Not sure if she heard correctly.

"Yeah. We." Emily said, motioning to her and Paige. "I can also help you if you want. I'm a great tutor." Emily beamed at Paige. Paige was unsure how to even decline Emily's offer.

"I don't know." Paige said, questionably. Paige was trying to keep her distance from Emily since their talk in the meadows. Paige didn't want her self to get too used to having Emily around. It would be make things more complication for her, she felt.

"Don't know what?" Pam Fields asked, walking up to them with more files in her hands. Paige eyed the files and cringed. _No more reports._ She quickly changed her mind and turned to Emily. "Okay. I'll go."

"Go where?" Pam asked impatiently, still waiting for an answer to her first question.

"Mom, Paige and I were thinking about going to see The Great Gatsby. We're writing a paper on it and Mr. Fitz recommend that we can see the movie on top of reading the book." Emily answered. Pam smiled and nodded in approve.

They were excused early so they could walk to downtown Rosewood before it got too late. Paige fell into step beside Emily, as Emily was really focused on getting to the old theater on time for their showing. Since it was a weekday, the theater was usually deserted.

Paige walked up to the window first and brought her ticket. She stepped aside to let Emily buy her ticket next. Paige tucked both of her hands into her jacket pockets while looked around. Before Paige turned her attention back to Emily, Paige spotted a familiar blonde hair girl. Paige's blood ran cold and she went numb.

"Shit!" She mumbled under her breath. She quickly turned away looking for an escape routine, but she didn't have many options. There were no corners that Paige could turn into and disappear or no parked cars near-by for her to run and hide behind.

She quickly poked Emily in the arm, looking down to the ground. Paige tapped her foot impatiently, praying in her head that Emily got her ticket already.

"What?" Emily looked at her confused, drawing her eyebrows together.

"Can you hurry please?" Paige hissed, pulling a hand up to semi-cover her face.

Emily frowned at Paige, grabbed her ticket from the employee at the window. "What's going on with you?" Emily said aloud.

Paige grabbed her hand and yanked her into the theater quickly. "Come on. Come on." Paige rushed inside. They both handed their tickets to another employee and he let them through the entrance. Thinking that the coast was clear, Paige straightened herself out and exhaled. _That was close. _She dropped her hand and let go of Emily's hand. Emily raised her eyebrow at Paige, not knowing what to say about Paige's odd behavior this evening. Paige didn't even bother to look at Emily. She kept her eyes forward until they proceed into lobby of the theater.

Once inside the lobby, Paige followed Emily to the lines for the concession stand. Emily turned and asked Paige. "Would you like this? Candy or something to drink? My treat." Paige, still looking a little pale, shook her head. Emily sighed. "Suit yourself."

Emily ordered a large popcorn, extra butter, a large diet Dr. Pepper, one salted soft pretzel, red vines, and Milk Duds. Paige looked at Emily like this was a joke. "Jeez." She mumbled in amusement.

For an athlete, Emily sure knows how to indulge at the movie theater. Paige offered to carry everything for Emily, since Emily could only grab the popcorn by her self. Paige led the way into their assigned theater and selected the middle row of seats. They both sat down and Paige helped Emily get situated with all her snacks. Once done, they both waited for the movie to start in silence.

Emily munched on her popcorn as she watched Paige from the corner of her eyes. She was getting nervous, watching people coming into the theater. Emily had to laugh because Paige was turning more and more pale. _What is her deal tonight?_

"What's going on? You look like you saw a ghost." Emily joked, grabbing another handful of popcorn. Emily offered some to Paige, but Paige waved, declining.

"No. Just Leslie."

"Who's that? A crazy ex-fling?" Emily retorted, sarcastically guessing.

"Nope. Just crazy." Paige hastily explained. Paige was sweating at this moment, she has been avoiding Leslie for the past week, but it was no use. Paige snapped her attention ahead when she saw a blonde girl with her friends make their way into the theater. "And she's here." Paige said quietly, sinking lower in her seat.

Emily laughed again. Emily's gaze was on Leslie and her friends, following them as they make their way in front of the seats. "What did you do to her? Broke her heart and now she's crazy?"

"I didn't even do anything! She got super clingy at the club so I ditched her." Paige hissed, bringing a hand up again to semi-cover her face.

Emily shook her head, grabbing some more popcorn and put them in her mouth. She finished chewing and sipping on her drink before saying, "Karma."

"She has been blowing up my phone and sending me text messages every five seconds. She's a stage five stalker." Paige continued to explain.

Leslie and her friends sat in a couple of rows in front of Paige and Emily. Paige looked over to Emily and exhaled a relieved breath. Paige sat straighter back up in her seat. Emily giggled and threw some popcorn at her face. Paige closed her eyes in frustration. Paige was sweating bullets and Emily was enjoying every minute of it.

The movie started and Paige seemed to have calmed down a bit. Emily enjoyed every minute of it. The movie was only about two hours long, but Emily blasted through all of her snacks and popcorn within the first hour of the showing. Paige was amazed that Emily, herself, could finish all of it with no help from Paige.

The movie ended, but the lights didn't go on. Paige and Emily sat in silence as the end credits rolled. Emily looked over and assumed that Paige wanted to wait for the other people to exit the theater before they exit. Emily continued to sit there, munching of the reminder of the popcorn that was at the bottom of the bag. Once every single person has filed out of the theater, Paige stood up and so did Emily. They walked out of the theater and Emily threw away the trash.

Before Emily could tell Paige that she needed to go wash her hands, she felt a hand pulled her to the side of the hallway. Paige stood closely in front of her with her head down, bracing one of her arm against the wall.

"Sorry." She mumbled before subtly glanced behind her.

Emily peeked over Paige's shoulder and she saw Leslie and her group of friends standing in front of the bathroom door. It looks like they were hanging out and possibly waiting for some friends.

Paige turned back and looked at Emily. She didn't realized how close she was shielding Emily until she realized that their noses were less than an inch apart. Paige gulped. Her brain was panicking. Paige began to sweat. Calm down, Paige told herself. She never gets nervous around girls so why does she always get nervous around Emily?

Emily smiled back. She was trying to fight her self from laughing in Paige's face. She has never seen her so worried. Paige has always been so cool and collected, but at the sight of Leslie, Paige has turned into a scary-cat. Paige glanced back one more time and quickly snapped back. She shut her eyes tight. "Shit! Shit!" She mumbled.

Emily looked over and saw Leslie staring in their direction. Since Paige was freaking out, Emily didn't know what to do. She weighed all her options in her head, but she couldn't decide. Emily impulsively cupped Paige's face and lend in, capturing Paige's lips. Paige instantly melted against Emily. Paige moved her arm down and placed her hands on Emily's hip, gripping her hips. She tilted her head and opened her mouth to deepen the kiss. Their first kiss was heated. This one was lazy, but Paige didn't want it to stop. Emily slowed down the kiss, savoring the taste of Paige's strawberry chap stick on her lips.

Paige still had her eyes closed when Emily gave her one last long kiss and pulled back. She was left breathless and she refused to open her eyes. She didn't want to go back to reality just yet, so she asked Emily. "Are they still there?" Hoping that they were still there and maybe they could do that again.

Emily slowly opened her eyes and peeked over Paige's shoulder. She turned back and studied Paige's face. Since Emily didn't get her an answer, she assumed that Leslie and her friends have already left so she opened her eyes and glanced at Emily.

Emily couldn't think of anything to say, but she couldn't help herself from looking at Paige's lips. What am I doing? She thought, trying to figure out what to do next. Paige turned her head to check but Emily stopped her. " No. They're still there." She lied before lending in again. _Screw it!_

This time, the kiss was demanding. Emily used her hand to pull Paige in closer. Paige stumbled forward, but stabled herself when she automatically wrapped both arms around Emily. Emily licked the bottom on Paige's lips and Paige granted Emily access. Emily tasted the softness of Paige's tongue as the two of them continued to kiss intensively in the hallway of the lobby. Paige felt Emily bit gently on her bottom lip and she couldn't stop her moan before Emily pulled back.

Paige opened her eyes to see Emily's reaction. To her surprise, Emily was composed and Paige could see a twinkle in her eyes like she was up to no good. Emily thought of a great excuse to use to explain her self. Paige hurried turn back and check on the blonde girl's status, but Paige saw no one is sight. _Huh? _Confused she turned back and stepped away from Emily.

Emily looked at her for a couple of seconds, realizing what she just did. Emily liked it, being in command, and watching Paige squirm. With Maya, she always followed Maya's lead and never did anything spontaneously like this. Emily wasn't sure if she did the right thing, but she was returning a favor, she thought. "We're even." Emily smirked at Paige. Paige stared after her with a dumb look on her face as Emily turned and walked out with a smile on her face.

* * *

Since the close call with Leslie at the theater, Paige hasn't bumped into Emily at school or at the station. It was like Emily stopped popping in her life and yet Paige couldn't stop thinking about Emily since their second kiss. Paige couldn't really categorize where they are standing right now in terms of their relationship. The first time they kissed, Paige just brushed it off because she thought that it would never happen again. It was an impulsive decision she kept on reminding herself. However, it happened again and this time, Emily initiated it, Paige doesn't know what to make of it. _It was nothing._

She shook her head to clear the thoughts that were flowing in. It was a Sunday evening and that meant family dinner at the McCullers. However, since Paige has moved to Rosewood, she has been having Sunday dinners with Alfred. Her father never comes home. He was always attending business out of town. Therefore, her stepmother choosing to not come home and opted to stay in some luxurious spa resort instead. And there's Noel who refused to return to the main house unless he was needed.

Paige was sitting at the dining table, waiting for Alfred to grab their meal when she heard her father coming through the doors. To her surprise, her father actually made it to Sunday dinner for once.

"Okay, Richard. Just send me the documents tomorrow morning. Thank you." Nick McCullers turned off his Bluetooth before turning to his daughter. "Where is everyone?"

"Hello to you too, father." Paige said flatly, looking indifferent that her father was here. Nick walked up to the table, but didn't sit down. He stood there, bracing both of his hands on the chair next to Paige.

"Paige. Where is everyone?" Her father asked again, his tone getting stern. Paige shrugged, not caring to give an answer. Her father eyed her. He gave up on the subject. "Paige, what is this I hear that you got yourself into trouble from Principal Carson?" Paige didn't like his tone at all. She didn't look up and shrugged.

"And from Detective Wilden?"

She knew her father might erupt any minute over the fact that she got herself in trouble with the law a month ago and her father had to send the lawyers in to take care of her situation.

Paige looked up at her father and shrugged again. "It was nothing." She mumbled quiet enough for Nick to hear. Her father was slowly raging from inside. Paige has constantly gotten into trouble very where she goes and Nick was sick and tired of bailing her out every time.

"DAMN IT PAIGE!" Nick yelled and slamming his fist against the table, causing all the utensils on the table to bounce against each other. Paige jumped, blood turning cold due to fear. "Everytime! I should have send you off to bordering school in Vermont!" Paige turned away, trying to fight against the urge of crying in front of her father.

Yup, Paige thought. Just send her away because she was a problem child. That would solve all the problems in Nick McCullers' life if Paige weren't around. Her feelings of fear manifest into anger and loneness as she thought about how easy it would be for her father to send her away and how her father always saw her as a burden, never taking the time to let her explain her actions or why she was in trouble.

"Mr. McCullers. You're here. Let me set a place for you." Alfred said, returning with Paige's plate of food. Paige was thankful that Alfred interrupted before it could get worse. Alfred set the plate of food in front of Paige. Paige muttered a thank you to Alfred and looked at her plate. She felt her eyes watering, but told herself that she shouldn't have a weak moment and cry.

Nick closed his eyes shut, breathed, opened his eyes, and straightened out his suit. "No, thank you Alfred. I lost my appetite." Alfred nodded and went back into the kitchen. "Next time. I won't let you get away with it so easy or so help me God. I expected better from you, Paige." With those words, he turned to the doors and slammed them shut, leaving Paige with silent tears steaming down her face.

Moments later, Paige wasn't alone anymore.

"How is the food?" Alfred asked, standing in the same spot her father stood. Paige didn't look up. She nodded and motioned to the chair. Alfred slowly pulled out the chair and sat down with his plate of food. They sat in silence and ate their dinner. Once Paige was done, she pushed her plate aside. She still hasn't said a word to Alfred, but he knew it was best to let her sulk it out. He stood up and grabbed her plate.

"Thanks for dinner Alfred." Paige murmured. "Thanks for having dinner with me every Sunday actually."

"It's always my pleasure, Miss Paige." Alfred spun and walked back to the kitchen.

Paige was alone in a house where no one wanted to live beside her. People came and go as he or she pleased. No one cares. The McCullers had all the money is this world, but yet that money couldn't buy warmth to fill this house, she thought. Tomorrow will be a better day she deeply hoped, because she was reaching her point where she couldn't pretend to be content anymore.

* * *

Walking to class was dreadful because it was Monday. Mondays are always so dreadful and the worst day of the week. Paige didn't even bother to wait for her friends. She made it into the school and walked up to her locker. Dropped her bag to the floor and dialed her combination into the lock. She had to give it a couple of tries before opening it.

"Hey. You didn't wait for us?" Shana asked and stood with her back to the lockers.

Paige shrugged, continued to look inside her locker. "Didn't feel like it." Paige wasn't looking for anything specific, but she didn't want to turn her attention to Shana either.

"Sis. You missed the party this weekend _again_." Paige heard Noel approaching. Paige slammed her locker shut and turned around.

"Bro. You missed Sunday dinner _again_." Paige retorted as a statement.

"Well, didn't think I had to attend since nothing good ever came after a good dinner. Same old stuff." Noel rolled his eyes, bored with the topic of the conversation.

"My father actually came by." Paige said.

"Did he?" Noel asked. "Did he miss me?" Noel made a puppy face mockingly and laughed. Jenna, who has been standing next to him the entire time, laughed and playfully slapped him on the stomach.

Even though Noel wasn't Nick McCullers' biological child, he always favored Noel over Paige. The reason being was that Noel was always driven to be the best at everything he did especially sport-wise. Even if that meant to be ruthless or use any form of tactics, then so be it. Nick McCullers appreciated it and saw it as a strive for success, something that Nick thought Paige lacked.

Paige rolled her eyes. She was so over this day already. "Where's Patrick?" She changed the subject.

"He's running an errand." Noel immediately answered and acting emotionless as much as possible. Paige suspiciously looked back at Noel. Patrick never missed a day of school nor does he run an errand this early during the day.

"Come on. Let's go before we're late." Noel hugged Jenna closer and motion for Shana and Paige to follow them. Paige waited for them to walk a couple of feet in front of her before she followed. _What's going on with Patrick?_

* * *

Paige decided to not attend her last class nor go play basketball with the boys. She was still feeling overwhelmed by her father's visit on Sunday so she needed to take a break and relax her mind a bit before she heads down to the station.

She walked through downtown Rosewood, exploring all the different shops they had there on the block. Downtown Rosewood looked completely different during the day than at night. It was more charming and cute. At night, the street literally looked like something out of a creepy horror film.

A little shop, called Rear Window Café, caught her attention. She thought she would stop by and grab a pastry and maybe a cup of coffee before going to her shift. She stopped and checked her bag, making sure she brought her wallet with her today. She dug through her wallet to find some cash. Before she could grab it, someone bumped into her as Paige was making her way into the coffee shop.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." They both said at the same time. Paige looked up, Aria was that someone who bumped into her. "Hey. Aria, right?" Paige wasn't sure, but she knew that this person was one of Emily's closet friends.

"Yeah." Aria said back, not knowing what to do when running into a familiar face in the middle of the day. She ditched class early so she could meet up with Ezra Fitz, who was literally parked a couple of feet away from the café.

"Getting coffee?" Paige said, noticing that Aria was holding two cups, one in each hand. "You must be thirsty." Paige observantly joked.

Aria turned paled and uttered. "Huh?"

Paige laughed again and pointed to Aria's hands. "Oh yeah. I'm meeting someone later so…" She drifted off, trying to think of something to say so they could change to the subject. "What about you? No class also?"

"Oh no. Didn't feel like going so I went exploring instead. Checking out Downtown Rosewood." Paige said. "Thought I should stop by this café and grab some coffee before heading to the station."

Aria looked at Paige for a couple of seconds. Something puzzled her. "The station?"

Paige looked uncomfortable trying to explain this to Aria, but since she only has a couple of more weeks of working at the station, she might as well not try to hide it anymore. "Um…yeah. I'm serving my time at the police station. For community service." Paige gave Aria a small smile.

Aria made a face. "And you go down to the police station after school everyday?"

"Yeah, mostly everyday." Paige confessed, wondering why Aria was asking her so many questions about the station. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh. No." Aria snapped out of her thought process. "Well, I should let you go do your thing, but it was nice bumping into you, Paige."

"Yeah. Nice to talk to you. See you around." Paige gave Aria a weak wave.

Aria smiled and walked away. Paige didn't like the look on her face. It was like she finally solved a puzzle or something. Paige continued to watch Aria, replaying their conversation in her head, trying to find the exact point where Aria started looking at her all funny.

Aria got to a Toyota Corolla and handed the driver one of the cups of coffee. The driver lend over and gave Aria a kiss on the cheek. Wait, Paige thought. _No way_. That was Mr. Fitz. The car drove off before Paige could get a better glance. Paige shook her head and walked into the café, still not positive on what she just saw.

* * *

Paige walked into the police station, with questions still flowing in her head. What did she just witness? There was no way. Mr. Fitz and Aria? Paige didn't care, but she wondered. If Paige caught them together in mid-day light then someone else in this town is bound to know too. She wondered if Emily knew? Should Paige ask Emily if what she saw was true?

She weaved through the area of desks before making it to her desk. Placing her coffee cup and bag down, she flopped on her chair. Breathed out a long sigh and lend her head back. It has been a long weekend and a long Monday, she couldn't wait for this day to be over.

"Long day?" Paige knew that voice. Without looking, she answered. "Yup."

Ever since last week, Paige was, once again, not sure where she and Emily stood with each other. She didn't want to make the situation awkward so if Emily was fine with where they stood with each other, then she will be fine with it too. Paige can only assumed that Emily kissed her to help her escape from Leslie. Nothing more, she thought. Nothing more. Paige opened her eyes and sat straight up. Emily has already situated herself at the desk right next to her, having all her books and assignments pulled out. Paige looked into her file basket and found that there are a couple of additional reports added since last week. She pulled them out and started to go through them. She grabbed her coffee and took a sip.

"What did you get?" Emily asked, but didn't look at Paige. Paige almost choked on her drink, hearing Emily ask her after some silence. Emily laughed. Paige looked at her, puzzled. Emily pointed to the coffee.

"Um…a red eye?" Paige guessed. "From that café place in downtown." She wasn't too sure. She asked Zach, the owner, what drink was the best if she needed an extra kick of energy. He handed the drink to her and she took it. Paige figured that Zach knew what was the best since he owns the place. It was strong enough where Paige immediately felt more awake after the first couple of sips.

Emily looked at Paige with wide eyes. "Jeez. I hope you can get some sleep tonight." She laughed. Paige didn't know what she was talking about. Paige wasn't a frequent coffee drinker, but she only get coffee if she feels like she really needed it to get through the day.

"It's good. Strong and bitter. I like it." Paige yawned. "I don't think it's working very well." She smirked at Emily.

Emily shook her head. "Well, if you want another one then you should swing by later. My shift starts in two hour."

"Wait. You work there?" Paige asked, feeling the slight tension between them thawing. "Since when?"

"Since the weekend. I figure that getting a job would be good for me. "

"You don't think that you're taking on too much?" Paige asked concerned with why at the suddenly Emily was taken on a lot of responsibilities.

"No. Keeping busy would be good for me."

Paige was glad to see Emily finally doing better. "Maybe I'll swing by. The studio is right there anyways and I haven't been there in a while."

"The studio?" Emily asked with intrigue.

"Yup. One of many McCullers' properties in Rosewood." Paige said nonchalantly.

"So when is the next raver at the McCullers? Are you guys planning an epic one in downtown too?" Emily joked.

"No way. It's off limit." Paige said seriously.

"Really?" Emily studied Paige. "It must mean a lot to you then?" Emily was curiously on why this place was so important to Paige.

"It's the only place that is not tainted with the McCullers' name." Paige said. Emily sensed that there was a hint of sadness in Paige's answer. Therefore, she decided to try to change the subject of the conversation but before she could, Pam Fields walked up to them.

"Hey girls. Emily, do you want to grab a quick bite to eat? I know your shift starts in a couple of hours. We can go now."

Emily nodded, gathering all of her belongings. That was a great idea. She wanted to spend as much time with her mother as possible, considering now that she has a job.

Pam looked at Paige. "Paige, join us?"

Paige looked up and answered. "Sure. Yes ma'am." Paige also started to gather her items. Pam smiled gently.

The three of them walked to the closest eatery in downtown. Paige passed this place early and it was a cute little place that served soup and sandwiches. When they walked in, the hostess guided them to a corner booth in the back of the place.

Paige took the seat that was opposite from Emily and Mrs. Fields. She was spending more time with Pam Fields than her own father and her stepmother combined. She missed this. She missed having a maternal figure around. She missed her own mother as she felt a hit of sadness, watching Emily and Mrs. Fields interacted over what to order.

The service was quick. They were barely there for ten minutes and the waitress already brought them their food. As they ate away, there were small conversation on how Emily's day went and what her schedule was like for the week since she's working now. Mrs. Fields turned the conversation to Paige.

"Paige. How's the food?" Paige quickly swallowing the huge bite she just took. Emily laughed as Paige made a face, forcing herself to swollen so she can answer Mrs. Fields.

"Good." Paige said, laughing lightly. "Way better than Alfred's cooking. That's for sure."

"Alfred?" Pam asked.

"He's our live-in butler. He does everything around the house. He's always there."

Pam nodded.

"Alfred cooks?" Emily asked, intrigued to know how a wealthy family operates. Is the McCullers like some of the famous celebrity families Emily watched on television? Always hiring people to do everything for them?

"Yeah. He does all the cooking actually. I tried my hands at cooking before but I almost burned down our house so I'm banned from the kitchen." Paige continued, in between chews. "But that was when I was very little."

"Your mother doesn't cook for you?" Pam asked, curious on why the McCullers have a live-in butler.

Paige stiffened. Emily noticed the change in her mannerism. "Cheryl, my step-mother, isn't around much so it's just Alfred and I most of the time."

"How about Mayor McCullers?" Pam continued to interrogate.

Paige looked down at her salad, pick at a crouton. "He's always in out of town."

"How about your biological mother? You see her often?" Pam continued to ask, Emily tapped her mother's foot under the table, telling her to stop with the questions. "I'm sorry. I'm getting too nosy."

"No. It's okay. Um…my mother is…in Philly." Paige concluded. "I visit her once in a while."

Pam nodded. "Well, I gotta get back to work." Pam waved the waitress over and paid for their meal. Paige offered to pay for her part of the bill, but Mrs. Fields insisted that it was her treat. "Paige, how about you just take the rest of the night off? You can finish up tomorrow."

Paige nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Okay. Bye, girls." Pam said and leaving the eatery.

"I'm sorry if my mom was getting too personal with the questions." Emily said, observing Paige from across the table. Emily noticed that Paige was watching her and mother closely early.

"No. She's just being a mother. They like to ask a lot of questions, right?" Paige joked.

"Yeah." Emily said, not wanting to continue where the conversation left off. Emily felt that Paige was also a very sensitive type of person, despite her external demeanor. Just the fact that Paige looked vulnerable, a couple moments ago, was enough for Emily to conclude that Paige McCullers had more depth to her than what everyone else assumed. Emily was fortunate to see a different side to Paige, but she knew there were more sides to see.

Paige picked at the rest of her salad before pushing it aside and watched Emily finished hers. Emily was lost in her thoughts as she wondered about Paige and her family situation.

"Ready to go?" Paige asked.

"No. You don't have to." Emily wiped her mouth with a napkin and looked up at Paige. Emily thought it was cute that Paige was chivalrous. Her heart leaped with a little excitement.

"What?" Paige said coolly.

"You don't have to walk me to work. I have legs. I'm capable of walking." Emily said with a smile.

"I know you have legs." Paige said. "But I'm heading that way for another cup of coffee." Paige didn't want her time with Emily to end so soon so she decided to create more time with Emily by using that coffee run excuse.

"Seriously?" Emily asked with a bewildered look. "You must not like to sleep tonight." Emily felt a little disappointed. Paige was heading the same way, not because Paige wanted to walk Emily to work.

Paige shrugged and sarcastically answered, "Sleeping is overrated. Besides, I'm young. I don't need sleep."

They both stood up and grabbed their bags. While walking to the café, Emily couldn't help but think about why Paige seemed so distant when her mother asked Paige about her mother and her stepmother. What is the deal with the McCullers?

Paige opened the door first and motioned Emily to walk in. "After you." Paige pretended to take a bow. Emily shook her head and laughed at Paige. Suddenly, Paige snapped back to reality. What is she doing? Walking Emily to work? Opening doors for Emily? Going back to your old self, she told her self.

"Oh and you too." Paige said, looking at the girl behind Emily.

There was another girl that followed them into the café. Emily turned around and saw the girl. She was petite with short brown hair. She blushed as she walked passed Paige. Paige eyed her, smiled, and gave her a wink. Once the girl was far enough away from them. Emily rolled her eyes.

"Does that work?" Emily asked, feeling a tad irritated that Paige has her attention on someone else.

Paige was still looking at the girl from where they were both standing. "Does what work?" Not giving Emily any attention on purpose. Paige could feel Emily's eyes on her. Do not think about Emily, she told her self.

"Being that obnoxious and cheesy?" Emily asked harshly, watching Paige watch the girl.

Paige laughed coldly and turned back to Emily. "Can I get another red-eye and a mocha latte, please?" Paige dug through her pockets to look for some money.

Emily went behind the counter, put on her apron, and started making Paige's drinks. From behind the espresso machine, Emily watched Paige. She was standing there with her hands tucked into her back pockets. Is this how Paige picked up girls? All she had to do was look at the girl and that was it? Emily still didn't believe it. She secretly hoped that it didn't work for the girl with the short brown hair.

"Here's the red-eye and the mocha latte. $8 please." Emily walked back to the register with the drinks. She was trying to stall some time so Paige won't have to leave the register just yet.

Paige pulled out some money and handed it to Emily. "Thank you for these." Paige grabbed the drinks and walked towards the girl that followed them in early. Emily watched closely as Paige placed the cup of latte on the table and introduced herself. The brown-hair girl beamed and motioned Paige to sit. The doors rang as another customer walked in. Emily had to tear her eyes from her observations and served the customer.

"Here you go sir. Thank you." The customer walked out with his drink and Emily wiped down the counter when Paige walked up and lend over the counter.

"Hey."

"Hey." Emily said back, still wiping at the counter. She was feeling beyond irritated and she couldn't figure why she was feeling this way.

"Works every time." Paige said pointed to her phone. Emily saw a name and a number in the contact list of Paige's phone. Her heart sank.

"Seriously?" Emily looked up, still couldn't believe it and trying to mask her annoyance. Paige laughed.

"Who wouldn't fall for this face?" Paige said cockily, pointing to her face.

Emily rolled her eyes. Paige could charm any girl she wanted and Emily knew that. She was still finding her self getting drawn to Paige for some reason. The appeal of Paige was something still foreign and complex to her, but Emily didn't want to admit it just yet that she might have developed a crush on Paige.

It was all just a distraction, Paige thought. She was not going to let a girl sway her emotionally or let a girl invade her thoughts. She could still have fun and not get attached to Emily, she told her self. As long as she kept her distance then she couldn't fall. _Right? _Paige felt confused on what she was doing. She was not so sure anymore and that drove her crazy.

"Okay. Gotta run. Have a good time at work. Good night, Emily." Paige said, smiled, and walked out of the café. Emily felt a slight tug of sadness. She watched Paige walk out and turned left towards the back way of the building.

* * *

Class ended early for Emily so she thought she would squeeze in some time to run on the track. Emily always has to keep in shape before the swimming season starts. Therefore, she would run a couple laps around the track sometimes, whenever she could. Running build up her cardio and she needed that for swimming if she wanted to on top of her game this season.

She quickly hurried to the locker area when she saw a figure lying on the bench with a towel over her head. Emily frowned at the figure as she walked closer to her. The figure was dressed in running gear. Yet, she was lying here with a towel over her head, sleeping Emily assumed. Emily decided to say 'hey' first to see if the figure would stir. Unfortunately, the figure did not. Emily then kicked the bench, hoping the vibration would be enough to wake up the figure. Yet, she did not stir. Emily decided to shake the figure and to her surprise, the figure stirred.

The figure groaned before sitting up, with the towel still over her face. "I'm up. I'm up." Emily immediately recognized that voice and she snickered. Turns out that Paige was taking a siesta in the locker room, on a bench. Not the best place to take a nap, Emily thought.

"What are you doing?" Emily spoke up.

Paige froze. _She's here? _She moved her hand and pulled down her towel. Emily was stand there with her arms crossed in front of her chest, waiting for Paige to give her an answer.

"Napping." Paige said, couldn't come up with a wittier answer. She rested her head in her hands, rubbing her eyes. Paige has been taking short naps at school for a couple of days now. Ever since she discovered the magic of a red-eye coffee drink, Paige has been hooked. The one great thing was that she got this burst of energy whenever she wanted. The down side was that she couldn't fall asleep early enough to get her eight hours of sleep in, leaving her feeling like a slug all day, the next day.

Paige looked up at Emily and noticed that she was still wearing her casual clothes. "What are _you_ doing here?" She asked, turning the focus on Emily.

"I was going go for a run, but you're kind of in the way." Emily retorted jokingly, pointing at her.

Paige smiled, stood up, and moved to the next bench over. Emily was getting more and more sassy towards Paige and she liked that. Paige found it very cute. She never believed that Emily was a full goody two-shoe. She assumed that Emily had a bolder side to her, but she has never let anyone witness this side. Paige was getting glimpses of it and she couldn't wait to see the full daring side of Emily Fields.

Emily putted her bag on the bench and dialed her combination into her lock. She opened it and grabbed her gear. "So…did you run already?" Emily asked, still digging in her locker.

Paige yawned and said. "Yeah."

"How many laps did you do?" Emily asked curiously, not looking at Paige.

"I lost count after the sixth lap." Paige was trying to count in her head how laps she ran, but she was having a difficult time recalling the memory.

"Without stopping for breathers?" Emily sounded more surprised than she wanted to. Paige nodded and yawned again. Emily nodded impressed that Paige could have such a high endurance. "Want to run again? I'll race you." Emily asked, playfully.

Paige perked up instantly with a smile on her face. "What?" Clearly, she was intrigued by Emily's idea.

Emily closed her locker and walked over to her with all her running gear in her hand. "I'll race you. I want to see how good of a runner you are."

Paige looked at her, raising her eyebrow. "You? Race me?" Still not believing that Emily was challenging her. Oh man Emily, Paige thought, she picking on the wrong person.

"Yup." Emily said confidently, before walking off into the changing area. She returned and Paige eyed her. The running gear was tight on her body, exposing all of her curves. Paige had to look in another direction. She was already getting distracted from Emily's figure and they haven't started the race yet. Paige knew she was in trouble.

"Ready?" Emily asked.

Paige looked back, eyeing Emily up and down. She gulped. She tore her eyes away and told her self to focus. She closed her eyes and stood up. Composed her self, trying to erase Emily's figure from her mind. 3-2-1. Game. On.

"Ready." She turned and smirked at Emily. "I can run laps around you all day, Fields."

Emily shook her head. "Bring it on, McCullers." Emily was never a trash-talker for any competition but with Paige, she couldn't help it. It was playful and both of them didn't take it seriously. Therefore, it made it easier for Emily to tease Paige.

They made their way all out to the track. Since the weather was getting cooler, there were less people on the track and field. Emily picked a spot on the grass and began stretching. Paige was jogging in one place, mentally preparing her self to run for her life. She didn't want to lose to Emily, especially when the girl was also so competitive. However, it was thrilling Paige thought, but she also knew that this was not an easy win.

"Come on, Fields. Let's go." Paige said, standing on her mark.

Emily jogged over and stood right next to Paige. Emily knew down inside that she wouldn't be able to keep up with Paige, but it was nice to have someone, with the same competitive spirit, to race against. It would motivate and push Emily to become a better athlete. Plus, it's always fun to spend more time with Paige.

"Shall we make this interesting?" Paige smirked at Emily.

Emily was intrigued. "Okay."

"The winner gets whatever she wants." Paige finished, looking at Emily, smirking more deviously. Emily gulped nervously. Her heart was picking up speed now at the sight of Paige's smirk.

Paige raised her eyebrow at Emily. She was playing with fire, once again, she said inside her head, but she couldn't help it. She stepped closer to Emily and whispered in her ear. "What do you _want_?"

"I want…" Emily ranked through her mind to find something, but it was extremely distracting to have Paige standing so close. She exhaled sharply. She couldn't think of anything so she went with the first thing she was curious about since a couple of weeks ago. "…to take a ride on your bike."

Mentally padding her self on the back for not saying something embarrassing and thinking that it was a good request, if she won. Emily looked up at Paige and noticed that she was thinking about it. Emily stepped in closer, teasingly asked Paige. "What do YOU want if you win?"

Emily was very nervous to ask Paige that question because Paige was very unpredictable. Paige could win and Emily would then have to keep her end of the bet. And who knows what Paige wanted from Emily?

"I want a rain check. I'll use it whenever I feel like it." Paige retorted, smirking at Emily.

"Okay." Emily extended her hand. "Deal?" Paige looked at her hand and took it.

"Deal." Paige's eyes lingered on Emily's face, stopped on her lips. Damn, those lips, she thought.

Emily's heart jumped a tad more in excitement. Emily could feel Paige taking her time to stare at her so she thought it was a good opportunity to run for it. Literally run for it. She turned and sprinted.

Paige's face dropped when she realized that Emily took off running without a fair start. She smiled to her self and chased after the girl. Emily tried to get into a rhythm, but knowing that Paige could catch up any minute, she was somewhat distracted by the thought. Emily made it half way through the lap, taking the lead, but Paige was just waiting for the perfect time to execute within the next 100 meters.

Emily felt someone touch her back. She glanced back and saw Paige on her tail. Paige smiled and tried to grab her again, but failed as Emily pushed herself a little bit more, gaining some distance on Paige. She started to laugh, but stopped because it might cause her to go out of breath quicker. Emily focused the final dash, when she felt Paige running in sync next to her. Emily looked over in disbelief. How? What?

Paige smirked at her. Paige knew that she could catch up, with Emily, anytime she wanted. She thought she should freak Emily out by running next to her. That move would intimidate any runner.

Emily frowned. Now she was frustrated on how she got a head start, but Paige still managed to catch up to her. Emily could almost see the finish line. She was so close. She pushed her self one more time and ran harder. They crossed the finish line and Emily fell on the ground, breathing heavily. Her head was spinning and her leg muscles are burning. Her running clothes were sticking to her skin. She was having tough time breathing.

Paige slowed down to a jog and then to a walk. She placed both hands on her head and walked in circles. She was also having trouble breathing as her heart was beating out of control against her chest. She shouldn't have tried to grab Emily, but she figured that she made the race more fun than serious. That was her mistake because it caused her to waste a lot of energy to joke around while running. Therefore, she didn't have the last dash in her to sprint across the finish line. She was close through, but she wasn't bothered that Emily won fair and square.

Paige heard Emily exclaimed in the back. "I won! WOOO!" Paige shook her head, couldn't believe that Emily beat her at her own sport. However, she wasn't too disappointed about it because Emily looked like she had fun. That was all that mattered to Paige. They continue to have fun together. On the bright side, Paige will get to spend more time with Emily. Granted, she has never given any girl a ride on her bike before, but she was going to keep her word since it was her idea to make a bet in the first place.

Paige walked over to where Emily was laying and looked down at her. "A deal is a deal. When do you want to ride?"

"Lucky for you, tomorrow night is my only night off this week so we can go then." Emily smiled at Paige, still feeling the thrill of winning.

"Okay." Paige shrugged, smiled at Emily.

"It's a date." Emily joked.

* * *

**Let me know what you think. Please review it. PM me. Until next time.**

**Cheers**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: First at all, THANK YOU SO MUCH for ALL of your reviews! Ugh, they are all so great and so positive. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. You have no idea how much your kind words mean to me since I thought chapter 8 was my weakest chapter so far. I am so glad that people are still eager and excited for this story. That's all I can ask for. **

**Redgirl25: **_Thank you. We will be seeing more of the McCullers' family dynamic in future chapters so stay tuned… _

**Nightrise1: **_A little dance? Yay! I'm excited that you're excited for the story…_

**Saii79: **_Thank you for noticing the Batman reference I throw in there and hopefully we will see what's up with Paige's mother in later chapters…_

**Kawaii: **_I guess we have to wait and see…_

**Del: **_In my mind, I also thought that Emily was capable of being sassier and tough. On the show, she has definitely evolved from a pushover into a stronger individual, who is capable of standing up for herself. So I'm excited for the character's development. And of course, there would be a dinner with the bike ride…._

_Thank you to _**OTHangels, Dark, and guests**_for your reviews_

**Secondly, PAILY scenes on PLL were so great. I'm so glad that Paige has become a larger part in Emily's life this season. Yay! **

**Lastly, I'm sorry for the long wait for a new update, but EDC weekend threw me off my schedule, but worry not. I will be getting back into writing and I will try to update more frequently like before. **

**Okay back to the story. Buckle your seat belts, folks **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Okay, maybe it was not a date date. She had a slip-of-the-tongue moment, but was Emily really joking? She rushed out of her last class when the bell rang and stopped by her locker, trying to open it quickly.

"Em, where are you heading in a rush?" Hanna asked. Hanna was also trying to open her locker, which was next door to Emily's. Emily didn't even bother to turn and look at her friend. She continued to organize all her textbooks inside the locker, hoping that she could slip away quickly afterward. She didn't want to start a full-blown conversation right now with Hanna. There was a place she needed to be and she didn't want to be late. Aria and Spencer both came over and stood on the other side of Emily's locker, observing her closely.

"You always bolt out of here. Heading to the station again? Why do you like to go there so much?" Spencer asked in her suspicious Hastings' tone. "Plus, you never told us what you have been doing there anyways." She raised her eyebrow.

Emily turned and faced her friends, mentally scrabbling to find a good excuse. "Um…helping with reports and…stuff." She choked out lamely.

In her head, those words sounded more convincing than out loud. She cursed at her self when she knew that her friends didn't buy her weak excuse. Aria arched her eyebrow, catching Emily in a lie red-handed. Emily looked at her nervously, sensing that maybe she needed to speak with more conviction. Maybe then her friends would believe her.

"My mom has been slammed at work with reports so I thought I would help her out." She looked at Spencer sternly, trying really hard to sound convincing so the subject could be dropped.

Spencer nodded like she believed Emily's second explanation better, but Aria still gave her a knowing smile, making Emily feel guilty about lying to her friends. Emily has never been a good liar, but technically, she wasn't fully lying. She does help her mother out at the station, but that wasn't the main reason why she was always heading there straight after her last class.

"Okay Em, but we need to start hanging out _again_. Just us girls." Hanna begged on the other side of the locker. "I missed _us_." Hanna whined and pouted. "Caleb is out of town so I need some fun time with my girls."

Emily looked at her and said, "We will." She grabbed her bag off of the floor and rushed towards the exit. "This weekend. I promise!" She didn't even make it to the exit doors when she heard someone calling out for her.

"Hey Em!" Emily slowed down and turned around to Aria's voice. Aria looked out of breath, trying to catch up to her. Was she walking that fast, Emily thought? Aria slowly approached her.

"Yeah?" Emily asked, drawing her eyebrows together in concern. "What's up?"

Aria looked troubled and Emily was getting nervous because she didn't know what Aria wanted to talk to her about. "I ran into Paige a couple of days ago at the café before she had to go to the station."

Emily looked at Aria and cold chills ran throughout her system. _Busted. _She knew that Aria probably have figured out why she was always eagerly running off to the station. It was because of Paige, Emily finally admitted in her head. She has been in denial for quite some time now and she knew it was a matter of time before one of her friends figured it out. _There was something there between Paige and her_. Things were moving too quickly and she felt like she was not quite ready yet, to like someone new.

"Look, it's not what you think. She's fun and I…" Emily started, but she got interrupted.

Aria shook her head and cut her off. "I'm not talking about that."

"What do you want to talk about then?" Emily asked, curious about what else was there to talk about.

"I think she saw me with Ezra." Aria looked very concerned. "But I'm not sure."

Emily looked at Aria confused. "I thought you guys were being cautious about sneaking around town together?"

"We were, but I didn't think that we would run into someone we knew during school hours." Aria said quietly, sounding more and more worried. "I just need you to talk to her about it."

"Okay, I'll talk to her about it." Emily reassured. She knew how important it was for Aria and how severe the consequences are if this secret got leaked out. Things would _never _be the same.

"I'm sorry Em. I didn't mean to make you the middle person." Aria was in distress, looking beyond vulnerable at the moment. Emily felt bad to see one of her closest friends feeling this way. To love and keep the relationship a secret because people wouldn't understand, makes life much more bittersweet than it already is. More bitter than sweet, actually.

"It's okay, Aria." Emily said, reassuring her friend again.

Aria smiled slightly. "About what you started to say earlier. Sometimes you can't help whom you have feelings for. It's better to admit it than to be in denial. At least, you would have some comfort in your honesty because you're being honest with yourself." Aria finished and gave Emily a hug. Emily returned the hug before they departed.

Emily thought about it. Aria knew, she concluded. Aria has figured out that Emily indeed does have feelings for Paige. Emily stood in the middle of the hallway, trying to sort out her feelings. She snapped out of her trance of thoughts and remember what she was doing before Aria wanted to talk to her. She ran into a full sprint all the way to the police station, finding Paige waiting for her in front of the building, sitting on the steps.

"Hey." Emily managed to say, out of breathe. Emily felt a smile growing on her lips. At the sight of Paige, Emily felt an instant excitement. Therefore, she always looked forward to seeing Paige, at some point within her day. Paige was unpredictable and spontaneous. She was different and refreshing. Paige was Emily's element of surprise, a good surprise, which she felt was something that was always missing in her life.

"Hey" Paige said back and smirked. "Couldn't wait to see me, huh?"

Emily blushed, but her face was already red from running so Paige wasn't able to see how her teasing affected Emily. _Thank goodness!_ Emily rolled her eyes playfully. She was completely out of breath, but it wasn't all because of the running that made her out of breath. Paige's smirk always caused her to have very difficult time breathing, she realized. Emily liked it, that Paige McCullers' smirk. The confident that Paige possessed was undeniable attractive, especially when she flashed her cocky smirk.

Emily bended over, dropped her bag, and placed both hands on her knees, still trying to even out her breathing.

"You wish. I just didn't want to you wait around for a long time. " Emily lied. She didn't know what she was doing, but she really enjoyed the company of Paige. She liked the way they bickered back and forward because no one has ever been so playful with Emily as Paige. Therefore, any opportunity Emily got to spend time with Paige, she would take it. A couple of weeks ago, Emily didn't want to jump into any new relationship and wanted to enjoy the single life. However, Paige has slowly made her change her mind. _She likes Paige_, more than she original thought but she was unsure what to do about it.

"I don't mind waiting for you." Paige teased and winked at her. Emily laughed lightly, feeling her heart wanting to jump out of her chest. Paige stood up, dusted of her bottom before stretching both arms above her head. Emily looked up and noticed that Paige's tank top lifted up slightly, exposing her tone stomach. Emily tore her eyes away, trying to not look at Paige in any inappropriate manner. Her heart was seriously punching her chest from the inside at this point.

"Ready?" Paige asked, when she threw her bag over her shoulder and looked back at Emily. Emily nodded, couldn't find her voice. Images of Paige and her tone stomach were still flashing in her head. It was distracting her from answering Paige right away.

"Are you hungry? Want to grab a bite?" Paige asked, looking down the street.

Emily stood up and grabbed her bag too. "Are you asking me out to dinner too?" she said, teasingly, as she looked at Paige. She cringed when the words slipped out. Another slip-of-the-tongue moment, Emily noted. She didn't want Paige to think that she was into her. Not just yet anyways. But is this what she really wanted? To go on a date with Paige this soon? _Slow down, Emily!_

"I thought if you're hungry, we could grab something. It would be nice for once to not have dinner by myself." Paige honestly confessed. Paige was used to eating dinner by her self every night, but it was quickly getting old and very lonely sometimes. Since having dinner with the Fields' that one time, Paige really missed having that family comfort feeling. She would try to re-create that moment with Alfred, but it was never the same and it would then become suddenly awkward.

Emily studied Paige's face, realizing that maybe her family life was more strain than she original assumed. Emily has always had great family bonding time and she couldn't ever imagine her parents not being there for her. She was so blessed to have that loving, supportive system. Her parents were her everything and she couldn't picture them not being active in her life.

"Yeah. I'm hungry. Let's grab something." Emily stood straight up, fixing the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

Paige smiled. "Okay. What do you want to eat? You pick. We can get anything."

Emily thought about it, making an adorable but funny face. Paige continued to smile, thinking that Emily was being extra cute right now. "Sandwich and salad?"

"Sounds good." Paige said, motioning for them to start walking.

They both walked into the same eatery that they ate at a couple of nights ago with Mrs. Fields. Paige asked if they could be seated in the same booth as last time and they got their food within ten minutes of sitting down.

Paige watched Emily subtly and then looked down at her food. "You must like sandwiches and salad." Paige said more as a statement. She noticed that the last time they were here together, Emily ordered the same thing.

Emily was in mid-chew when she nodded. "Turkey and brie sandwiches are one of my all-time favorites. I can eat that all-day and everyday. Pair it with Caesar salad? One of the best combination ever." Paige smiled and made a mental note of that.

They enter a comfortable silence as each of them enjoyed their meals without saying a word. There was something about that silence that Paige couldn't explain. Most silent moments are usually awkward, but with Emily, it was never awkward, it was quite the opposite. Paige actually liked it. It was peaceful, calming, and very comforting. Paige didn't mind it at all as long as Emily was there with her.

"So…" Emily said first, not knowing where to start with the whole Aria-Ezra conversation. Where would one start that topic? Emily thought as she picked at her salad, looking conflicted.

Paige looked up at her and quietly laughed. At the sudden, Paige felt the atmosphere getting real serious. Mocking Emily, "So…" Knowing that Emily wanted to discuss something important with her especially when Emily was using that tone. However, Emily was being coy about bringing up the subject so Paige decided to take the reign on this conversation.

"Spit it out. What's up?" Paige said coolly, placed down her fork, and looked back up at Emily.

Emily shyly smiled. It was nice to get straight to the point. With Paige, everything was always straight to the point, never around the point. That was another thing that Emily really liked about Paige. It was so refreshing to not be secretive or careful with what she wanted to say at all the time.

"Aria told me that she ran into you the other day?" Emily questioned gently. She wanted to keep the conversation light and not make Paige feel like she was getting cornered into this subject. Plus, Emily didn't want to make this conversation feel like an interrogation either, where she was trying to extract information from the girl.

Paige now understood why Emily was afraid to start this conversation.

"You want to talk to me about _who_ I saw Aria with that day." Paige stated, arching her eyebrow at Emily. Emily felt so uncomfortable and couldn't help, but give Paige an apologetic expression. Paige continued. "You can trust me, you know?" Paige picked up her fork and took a small bite of her salad. "I'm not going to tell anyone." She said casually, continue to pick at her salad.

Emily looked at Paige, not sure what else to say. How did Paige know what Emily was thinking? She looked intently at Paige and waited for the other girl to speak again.

"It _was_ Mr. Fitz, wasn't it?" Paige asked, still looking at her salad. The silence, she got from Emily, indicated that what she saw that day was true. Paige did see Aria and Mr. Fitz together in that car.

"So how long have they been together?" Paige asked, nonchalantly.

Emily paused for a couple of seconds, gathered her thoughts before honestly answering Paige.

"They have been on-and-off for two-three years." Emily answered, watching Paige closely to see her reaction. To her surprise, Paige didn't react. Paige casually continued to pick on her salad and take small bites.

"You're not weird out by it?" Emily asked curiously, giving Paige her signature Fields' concern look.

"No." Paige finished chewing. "It's none of my business really. If Aria is happy with Mr. Fitz, then why would I care? I just thought what I saw that day couldn't be true, because you know? Teacher and student together?" Paige shrugged and continued. "The truth is that you can't help who you like and that's okay. It shouldn't matter to other people when it comes to your life, because it's not their life."

"Aria kind of told me the same thing." Emily said quietly. Was this déjà vu? She thought. "You know, for someone who doesn't date, you know a lot about relationship and everything that comes with it." Emily laughed teasingly, impressed with how Paige was handling Aria's secret.

* * *

Paige waved down the waitress and grabbed the check. She insisted on paying for everything since Paige asked Emily to grab dinner with her. "This is a date, remember? You insisted that it is." Paige joked. She winked at Emily and the girl blushed. Emily was only joking, but her heart jumped rapidly at the fact that Paige thought _this_ was a date too. _Was Paige being serious?_

They both walked out of the café when Paige started to feel nervous about giving someone a ride on her bike, especially when that someone was Emily Fields. She has never done this before, but there's a first time for everything. Paige led the way towards the back alleyway of the café building and Emily noticed that there was barely any lighting in the back. It was almost pitch dark.

"Is this where you going to kill me and no one is going to find out?" Emily teased, to break the creepy silence the alleyway was giving.

Emily quickly fell in step with Paige and placed her hand on Paige's arm for security. Paige could sensed that Emily was getting antsy so she bended her arm so she could take Emily's hand in her hand. Paige had no intentions on holding Emily's hand, but it felt like the natural thing to do since she was leading the way and she didn't want anything to happen to Emily in this dark alleyway.

In the dark space, Emily was creep out, but the warmth from Paige's hand was the only thing that she focused on to get over the fear factor. She smiled quietly to herself, as she held onto Paige's hand a little tighter. She might as well as take full advantage of this moment, she thought.

"Maybe." Paige shrugged, smiling at Emily's sense of humor. Paige squeezed Emily's hand, reassuring that they were where they need to be before letting go. Paige instantly missed the feeling of Emily's warm hand in hers, but she had to let go so she could find her key.

They stopped in front of a metal garage door when Paige dug in her bag for a key. She found the one she was looking for, plugged it into the lock, twisted it to the left and pulled out the key. Paige grabbed the handle and pushed the metal door upward. Behind the door revealed Paige's bike sitting alone in the space.

"Look at that beauty." Paige said and grinning proudly at her bike.

"I have never been on a bike before," Emily said, thinking what did she get her self into. Motorcycles are dangerous. There are many risks that one takes when one gets on a motorcycle. She could go flying off of it. She could break something in her body if they get into a wreck. Emily instantly wanted to back out, but she didn't want Paige to think that she was scared even before getting on the bike.

Paige looked at her and smirked. "You'll like it." She walked into the space and looked for her helmet. She grabbed it and walked over to Emily.

"Hold this." She handed it to the girl and walked back into the garage. Paige kicked up the kickstand and pushed her bike out to where Emily was standing. She lend the bike again, went back to her garage, and pulled down the metal door. With it locked, she turned towards Emily. Emily stood there like a statue glued in one spot, holding tightly onto Paige's helmet. Paige motioned her to come closer. "Come here."

Emily walked over, still in awe of the bike. Paige grabbed the helmet from Emily and looked at her. Suddenly, Paige nervously tucked Emily's hair behind her ears. _Why did she just do that?_ Her heart rate was climbing. There was no way to slow it down, especially around Emily. She could feel Emily's gaze intensively at her, but she didn't want to let any emotion show so she stubbornly told her self to calm down. _Breathe, Paige. _She looked straight into Emily's eyes and smirked. She gently placed her helmet on Emily's head and buckled the clasp under her chin. She tugged on one of the strand, making sure that the helmet was secured on Emily's head. Being this close was too much, Paige thought. Her mind started to wander to the memories of them kissing, but she mentally dismissed them. _Not really now. Paige, focus. _

She looked up at Emily and Paige laughed quietly to her self. Emily gulped and looked back at her with wide eyes. Maybe Emily was nervous about this bike ride, she thought. Emily had nothing to worry about because Paige knew what she was doing and she wasn't going to risk both of their lives on this ride.

"Are you nervous?" Paige asked, raising her eyebrow. Emily silently nodded. Paige chuckled. "Don't be." She assured Emily and smiled. "Trust me."

Paige walked over to her bike, kicked the kickstand again, and swung herself over her bike. She balanced the bike in between her legs and motioned Emily to hop onto the back, but Emily stood there frozen, staring back at her with a blank expression. Emily standing there, with her raven hair curled down out of the helmet and the look of anxiety was beyond adorable. _So cute. _Paige had to chuckle again. She lend all the way over and grabbed Emily's hand to pull her over closer to the bike.

"All right. Now swing your leg around and sit on the seat." Paige instructed. Emily listened and took a moment before doing exactly what Paige told her to do. It was an awkward maneuver for Emily, but she still got on the bike all right.

"Okay. Hold on tight. You can hold onto me when we start going, okay?" Paige turned slightly over her shoulder and saw Emily nodding. Emily still hasn't said a word, and she gently placed both of her hands on Paige's hips from behind. Paige was not sure if that was the correct thing to say, but that was how they done it in the movies so she just went with it.

Paige started her bike and the engine turned over. She twisted the right grip gently. The bike revved slightly as it moved forward causing Emily to throw both of her arms around Paige's waist, in fear that she might get whip off of the bike. Paige laughed, but Emily couldn't hear it over the roaring sound of the engine.

They cruised out of downtown and made their way onto one of the highways. Without warning, Paige turned the right grip again. This time, she pulled it down hard, causing the bike to skid forward, lifting the front wheel up slightly. Paige heard Emily shockingly gasped in the back as Emily's arm hugged her tighter. Paige thought to her self, this was not that bad, giving Emily a ride. She didn't know why she was so nervous in the first place. Paige could feel Emily's entire front pressed against her back. The feeling stirred something up inside of Paige. _Not bad at all._ She smiled.

Within several minutes of the motorcycle ride, Emily wasn't nervous anymore. However, every now and then, Paige would rev the bike, catching Emily off guard and she would grab tighter onto Paige. Emily didn't care how Paige would feel about her tight hold, because Emily was starting to enjoy this. It was a new rush she has never experienced before. Paige was right. Emily _loved_ this. There were moments that scared her, but after the quick fright, the thrill kicked in. Wind in the face. Feeling librated. Smelling the familiar peach scent again from the back of Paige's neck. Emily rest her chin on Paige's shoulder and smuggled closer, savoring the moment and everything the came with it.

They took a ride for approximately an hour before Paige headed back into town. Emily was disappointed that they had to end the ride so soon, but she knew that it was getting late and she had to return home eventually. She should probably lend back away from Paige, but she didn't want to so she didn't. She wanted a couple more minutes of hugging Paige this closer from behind.

They stopped in front of Emily's house. Halfway through the bike ride, Paige had to asked Emily for direction to her house. Of course, they had some miscommunication because the engine was rattling so loud to the point where they both couldn't hear each other at all. Emily had to lend in extra close and talk into Paige's ear, causing chills to be sent throughout Paige's entire body and the hairs on her arms to stand up. She definitely would like to give Emily a ride again, she thought. _Any time. _This is something Paige has never experienced before and she liked it.

Paige slowed down as she entered the residential neighborhood and crawled up Emily's drive way. Emily peeled herself off of Paige, swung her legs over, and jumped off of the bike. She took a deep breathe in while Paige killed the engine and hopped off.

"So? "Paige asked, turned, and looked at Emily. Paige smirked, as she knew that she was right. Emily loved it. Paige could see it clearly written all over on Emily's face.

"You were right. I _loved_ it!" Emily exclaimed excitedly. "There was this rush. I can't explain it!" Emily was grinning like a little child on Christmas morning. Paige couldn't help, but smiled widely at Emily. Ugh…that smile, Paige thought.

This was also another first in Paige's book. She has never dropped a girl off at her house before. Therefore, she was feeling uncertain about what to do next. Paige turned and examined the Field's resident. Her home was a darling olive colored house with white trimmings and exterior details. Paige noticed that Emily had a large porch in front, complete with a seating area, and was surrounded with plants and scrubs. It was very inviting, she thought. For some reason, she missed all of these details the first time she came over.

Paige turned back and caught Emily staring at her. Emily could see that look again. The sad look that she saw at the restaurant, when her mother bombarded Paige with all of the family questions.

"Can I have my helmet back? You can't keep it." Paige joked, putting out her hand to Emily. "I know you want to." That was the best icebreaker she could think of since she didn't know what else to do or say.

"Oh." Emily said, looking up. She grabbed the clasp of the helmet and undid it. She pulled the helmet off, but she didn't hand it back right away. "You should get another one."

"Another what?" Paige asked, staring back at her.

"Helmet." Emily smiled deviously. "In case, I want to go on more rides. You need a helmet too."

Paige laughed coolly. "This was a once in a lifetime experience. I don't give rides, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember, but… I'm your one exception." Emily beamed at Paige. "Remember that."

Paige slowly nodded, not saying anything. Paige felt something stirred again inside of her at Emily's words. _Her one exception. _Emily looked around and back at Paige, noticed that Paige was staring intensively at her, but still smiling. Why does this feel like it's the end of a date where both people awkwardly don't know what to do next?

"I think I'm going to head inside." Emily said quietly. "Good night, Paige."

"Good night, Emily." Paige said, smirking at Emily. Paige closed the distance between them. Emily looked up at Paige and noticed the girl's eyes traveled down to her helmet, then back up to Emily's face. Emily was still holding onto it. Paige raised her hand and grabbed the helmet, her fingers gently brushed against Emily's hold on the helmet strap. It was the lightest touch, but Emily felt warmth spreading in the area like wildfire.

Emily gulped. Emily's eyes roamed and stopped at Paige's lips. Paige was standing too close to her and it was making her nervous, like really nervous. Emily felt a sense of panic and turned quickly around. She almost broke out in a jog, walking up her porch. _Do not look like an idiot, Emily_. She fumbled with her bag, looking for her key. Once she found her key, she jammed it into her front door and opened it. She got inside and immediate slammed the front door close without looking back at Paige. She lend her back against the door and slid down. _What. The. Hell. Emily. _Why is she acting like a five-years-old child running away from her crush? This was bad, she thought, she got it bad.

* * *

Paige stood by her locker as she threw her bag and all of her books into it. It was time for lunch and she didn't want to hold onto everything while getting lunch. Since her bike ride with Emily, Paige has been non-stop thinking about her. One exception. She didn't even want to stop the memories from replaying themselves in her head. The way Emily looked with her helmet on. The way her body felt against Paige's. She has never daydreamed this much about one girl before. This was another first in Paige's book.

"Hey, Paige."

Paige sighed. "Shana." She said flatly. She didn't even have to turn and look. Whenever Shana was around, that meant trouble for Paige. Every single time, it was the same.

"So…how was the bike ride last night?" Shana asked. Instantly, Paige turned pale. She got caught, she thought. She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed out deeply. Paige shut her locker door and turned to look at Shana.

"What do you want?" Paige asked emotionless, not wanting to further this conversation.

"Paige McCullers giving Emily Fields a ride on her bike?" Shana teased. "If I didn't know any better, I would say that you like her."

"Actually, you don't know me that well." Paige said, dismissively. Technically, Paige was still confused on how she felt. She didn't want to think about it. She just wanted to enjoy the moments she had with Emily. She wanted to keep it simple and not complicate the situation even more by figuring out her feelings or defining their relationship.

Shana eyed Paige closely. "Really?"

"Really." Paige answered coolly.

"Whatever, Paige." Shana said, motioning Paige to follow her. "You already rule your bike rule for her. What's next?"

Paige silently followed Shana into the cafeteria. Patrick, Noel, and Jenna were all sitting at their usual table, waiting for them. She sat down at the table and zoned out into her own world. She wasn't listening to what her friends were saying as she looked over at Emily's table. Emily was sitting with all of her friends at their exclusive table in the courtyard.

"She is not your type, you know?" Shana whispered in Paige's ear. "Look at her. Star athlete. Bright student. From a great family."

Paige turned back and looked at Shana, with a frown on her face. Shana's words hitting her like a bag of rocks.

"Look at you. You're a troublemaker. Mediocre student. Not even mediocre. From a broken family? You two are too different. She would be ashamed of you because people expected better for her." Shana finished with a smile on her face. "She will use you and throw you aside, just like how her ex did with her. And another consideration before you break all your rules for her, she is not fully over her ex. I mean, come on! Her first love?! The first love is _always_ the hardest one to forget."

Paige felt every word and the sting that those words brought. She looked away, repeating everything Shana told her in her head. Paige looked over at Emily's table again and realized that maybe what Shana said could be true. Maya was a big part of Emily's life and she had the hardest time getting over her. What was she doing? Paige thought. She can't compete with that.

"You want a girl who is the same as you, Paige." Shana said, standing behind her and wandering her hand across Paige's shoulder. " A girl who understands you."

Paige shrugged her hand off and lend forward, placing both arms on the table. "Don't worry, Shana. You're not _that_ girl for me." Paige retorted coldly, annoyed at this point.

Shana lend forward again and whispered in Paige's ear. "This is your second warning, Paige."

Paige shrugged off Shana's comment and returned back to Emily. She was feeling all sort of emotions. She was sad with the realization that maybe she and Emily were two different types of people. She become angry with herself when she realized that somewhere along the line she slipped up. She _is_ feeling something for Emily more than friends, she thought.

The lunch bell rang and Paige stood up. She didn't even bother to grab any lunch. She was so consumed with her conflicted feelings that she wasn't feeling hungry anymore. She stood up and stormed out of the cafeteria and into the nearest bathroom. Paige walked to the sink, braced her hands on the sink, and looked in the mirror. How much more pathetic could she look right now, she thought and what was she doing? Why did Shana's words bother her this much? Has she changed? Was what she has been running away from catching up to her now? Paige opened the faucet and let the water run. She splashed some water on her face and watched the water continue to run as she fell into a trance.

The bathroom door opened.

"So this weekend, Toby and I…" Spencer shut up immediately as the girls realized that the bathroom wasn't fully vacant. Emily's eye immediately fell on the figure that was standing in front of the girls.

Paige shut off the faucet, grabbed a paper towel, and dried her face. "Don't stop on my account." She turned to toss away the paper towel, walked passed the girls, and out the door in a hurry.

Everywhere Paige turns, she sees Emily. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't run away from Emily, she realized. Paige hurried and walked down the hallway before she heard someone calling out for her. She stopped but didn't turn back. She prayed that it was not Emily who was calling for her.

"Paige!"

Paige closed her eyes. She couldn't escape Emily, she thought. No matter how hard she tried, Emily always found a way to catch up to her. She slowly turned around.

"Hey." Emily said with a wide smile. Paige nodded, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Um…I was thinking that maybe we could walk together to the station. After school?" Emily waited for a reply, but got more silence. "Since we're heading in the same direction." She quickly added.

Paige pretended to look disinterested. Honestly, Paige was still reeling from earlier that she didn't want to speak because she knew that she wouldn't be able to control her tone. She didn't want to take her frustration out on Emily. Therefore, Paige refused to say anything.

Emily looked concern and asked. "Is something wrong?"

Paige felt a sting of guilt. She had to answer. She didn't want to make Emily feel bad or worry over her and her stupid mood swings. "Fine." She answered. The word sounded more harsh than what Paige intended.

"Are you sure?" Emily pressed on. " You look like…"

Paige couldn't take it anymore. She needed some time to figure things out on her own and Emily, standing in front of her, was not helping. "I'm fine." She repeated again. "I…can't stop by the station tonight." That was the best she could do in the moment because she didn't want to lie to Emily.

"Oh." Emily said. Her face dropped in disappointment.

"I'm sorry. I got to run." Paige said and rushed passed Emily. She has to get out of there. The best thing for her was to keep her distance from Emily until she can erase all their memoires from her mind. She couldn't tell Emily that everything about her was beginning to invade her being. What if Shana was right? Paige didn't fit into Emily's world and Emily didn't fit into hers. She was slipping and getting too attached. She needed to stay away from Emily and re-focus on her self.

* * *

It was a Friday night and Emily was checking her self out in the mirror. The girls were going to be here any minute, to pick her up. Tonight, she and her friends were heading to a get-together at Mona's. Since they have nothing else to do, Emily figured that maybe they should check it out because it could be fun. Emily smoothed her hair down and looked in the mirror one more time. When she finally approved her outfit, she ran downstairs. Pam was standing in the kitchen, reading a magazine. "Hey, honey. Off to the party at Mona's tonight?"

Emily walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. "Yeah. How did you know?" Eyeing her mother suspiciously.

"Paige told me." Pam said, not lifting her eyes off of the magazine. Of course, Paige told her mother about it. Paige and her mother have been spending a lot of time together at the station. Sometimes, Emily got jealous of their relationship. Paige would tell her mother anything and everything, where Emily would feel weird if she had to share the same stories with her own mother. However, that wasn't the only thing that bothered Emily about Paige lately. She hasn't seen Paige all week. Emily hasn't done anything that might have upset Paige so she couldn't figure out why Paige was being all weird. When Emily got to the station, Paige has just left. When Emily entered the classroom, Paige found a reason to leave. It was like Paige was trying her best to avoid her, but why? Emily couldn't figure it out.

"She did?" Emily questioned, irritated by the mention of Paige's name. She have been trying her best to not be bothered by Paige's cold shoulder, but now, the gates are opened and she was getting angry at Paige for ignoring her for the last couple of days. Emily thought that they were heading towards a good place since their 'date,' but she guess she was wrong about that. It was a one sided thought.

Pam nodded. Before Emily could continue, she was interrupted by a car honk from outside. "They're here. Got to go." She stood up from the table and walked over to where her mother was standing.

Pam lend forward and gave Emily a kiss on the cheek. "Have fun, okay? If anything happens, call me." Pam smiled sweetly at Emily. Emily nodded and walked outside to the porch.

"Hey." Spencer and Aria greeted Emily. "Ready to go?"

Hanna was sitting in her car, waiting for the girls to return. "Let's go!" Hanna exclaimed once they all got into the vehicle and fastened their seatbelts.

Mona lived on the other side of the residential area. Hanna pulled onto her street and Emily could see cars parked everywhere. It was hard to try to find a parking space close by so Hanna had to turn the corner and parked the car onto another street in another neighborhood. The girls got out of the car and waited for Hanna to catch up. As they walked towards Mona's house, Spencer observed. "So I guess this is not a small get-together anymore?"

Aria shook her head. "I guess not."

"God! And I wore my most fashionable pair of shoes! They're going to get ruined!" Hanna moped, trying her best to keep up with the other girls and their walking pace.

Aria and Emily linked arms and laughed at Hanna. Hanna was always the most entertaining out of their group of friends. Over the years, Emily has gotten closer to the girls and she was glad to have them in her life again. They went through a period where they all lost contact with each other, but they have rekindled their friendships and now the bond is stronger than ever.

"So…Emily. Are you going to try to get back in the game tonight?" Hanna raised her eyebrow at Emily.

Emily said back. "What game?" Shaking her head, feeling annoyed already because her friends have been pressuring her to get back into the dating game for some time now. However, she hasn't been interested in anyone else because of Paige. Emily had a feeling that Aria knew, but Spencer and Hanna still haven't figured it out yet. Thank goodness because she knew that her friends would try to talk her out of liking Paige, which would impossible because she really likes Paige.

Spencer laughed. "Come on, Em. We have all seen you in action. You just rusty now."

Emily shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know. If I see someone that I like, then maybe?" The girls giggled, getting excited for Emily. Emily was just saying that to get her friends off of her back, but really, she had no intentions to get flirtatious with anyone tonight.

Emily's mind drifted to Paige suddenly. Was Paige going to be here tonight? She wondered. Emily snapped out of her thought. Why was she still thinking about Paige? It was clear that Paige didn't want to hang out with Emily any more. The past couple of days were evidences that Paige was avoiding her. It was a clear hint that she should take. Should she? Emily frowned her face and stopped abruptly, causing someone to bump into her.

"Oh, I'm sorry." They both said at the same time.

Before Emily could say anything, she stared instantly at the person. The blonde hair girl returned a sweet smile. "Sorry, didn't see you there." Emily continued to stare.

"I'm Samara." The blonde girl extended her hand out and Emily took it.

"Emily." She said nervously. Spencer nudged Emily's shoulder before walking over to the other side of Hanna. They both laughed quietly with each other, watching Emily closely.

"This should be interesting." Hanna said excitingly to Spencer.

Samara was cute, Emily thought. She had fair skin and blue eyes. She was tall and had a great figure. From the girl's first impression, Emily concluded that Samara was also very charismatic and talkative too.

"I'm new to this side of town. First time in Rosewood. One of my friends invited me out to this party. I apologize for bumping into you, but then again… not really." She was also straightforward, Emily noted. Samara eyed Emily up and down, making Emily blush under her tan skin tone. This girl knows what she wants, Emily thought.

"Do you attend Rosewood High? I don't think I ever seen you around." Emily asked.

"I attend Sheridan Prep School on the other side of town. I'm surprise I never ran into a pretty girl like you before." Samara smiled at Emily. Hanna nudged Emily, snapping her out of staring at Samara.

"Samara!" Everyone turned towards the voice. Emily saw Shana walking towards them. Behind her, Emily could see Jenna and Paige, but Paige was not paying any attention to where she was heading as she was in deep conversation with Jenna.

Emily felt her heart swell a tad, maybe even beat a pace quicker. She hasn't seen Paige around since that day when they were both in the hallway. She missed seeing Paige at school and spending time with her everyday at the station. Now, seeing her again, walking towards them, Emily couldn't help but feel some sort of excitement.

"Hey. I was making some new friends in Rosewood." Samara motioned toward Emily and her friends.

Shana shook her head as Jenna and Paige walked into the circle that they were standing in. Emily could feel Paige's eye on her, but she continued to look at Samara, refusing to look at Paige.

Paige just casually waved at Samara before turning her attention back to Emily. Paige could see what she assumed was interest in Emily's eyes as Emily continued to gaze at Samara. Paige didn't like it. She was beginning to feel frustrated as Emily refused to look at her or even greet her. But then again, why would Emily be all friendly with her? Paige was the one who have been avoiding Emily for days. She understood why Emily would be angry with her, but she didn't want Emily to act _this_ coldly towards her. It hurt a bit, she admitted to her self.

"Let's go inside." Samara said, motion Emily to join her. Emily obliged and walked with her inside. Paige's sight followed them. Aria, Hanna, and Spencer all followed in right after. Before Shana followed everyone else in, she gave Paige a look, arching her eyebrow.

Paige rolled her eyes back and asked coldly. "What?"

Shana lend in and whispered. "You looked like you just lost your toy." Shana mockingly pouted before linking her arm with Jenna and laughed. Jenna must have thought the same thing too as she laughed along with Shana.

Paige was so over this party already as she stood there watching everyone entering the house. She felt like she didn't want to be there anymore. She didn't feel like she could enjoy herself, which was very odd. Paige has never felt like this before and it bugged her even more. Paige bee-lined straight the drinks and tried to fix her self a strong one, but all Mona had at the party was beer. Beer would work, Paige thought. She just had to drink a lot of it to get her self in the mood to party again.

She poured her self a full cup and looked around. The house was packed with faces that Paige recognized. Most of those faces, Paige have seen at school, but there are a couple of fresh faces that were unfamiliar. Paige stood in the kitchen, watching people walked by. She didn't feel like meeting new people or having conversations with them so she stood observing everyone nearby. She looked around and found Emily and her friends on the opposite side of the room.

Emily looked over and saw Paige staring at her. Paige looked upset, but why? Emily wondered. Emily hasn't done anything to upset Paige so why was she standing across the room, glaring at her. Paige was the one that have been avoiding her. She shouldn't be worried about how Paige felt. They had something, but then Paige pushed her away. However, Samara was here and she seemed interested in Emily. Emily was enjoying her time with Samara so why not? Let's see where this was going to lead.

Paige glared over again. Emily was talking away with her friends and Samara. They all had drinks in their hand and really looked like they were enjoying themselves. Paige felt her blood boiling with what? Anger? Why, she asked her self. Every time, she glanced back at Emily, watching her and Samara's interaction. Paige got warmer. Emily throwing her head in laughter lightly placed her hand on Samara's arm. Paige was getting heated. Samara lending in close and whisper something in Emily's ear. Paige got angry. She didn't like their proximity together.

"Wow, Paige. This is on another level." Paige heard Shana from behind her. She ignored her and took a sip of her drink. "Paige McCullers. Are you creeping?" Shana joked.

Paige turned and looked at Shana. "Shana. I don't creep." Paige chug the rest of her beer. The beer tasted warm and bready. Paige didn't realize that she has been babying her drink for that long. Paige walked back to the keg and refilled her cup full again, trying to shake her irritation away. She chugged the full cup of beer and refilled it again.

"So tell me, Paige. What were you doing then?" Shana asked, obviously trying to push Paige over the edge and it was working.

Paige looked at her drink again. What was she doing? She doesn't act like this ever, getting angry watching Emily interact with someone else. Why was she so angry? Was this jealousy? She lifted the cup up and finished it before refilling it again. Is she crushing on Emily? Paige has been avoiding these questions for weeks and now it was all catching up with her. If she does not admit it to her self, then it was not true, she thought. She needed to find herself again, her old self. She was doing so well for the last couple of days and now she has fallen off the wagon at the sight of Emily being here. Paige looked at Shana and then back at her drink.

"Observing." She said before she brought the red cup up to her lips and chugged it again.

This time, the beer tasted refreshing, but a little buzz was sneaking up in her head. Her body began to tingle and she was beginning to feel like she could do anything at this point. She was at the earlier stage of being drunk and she liked that. It numbed out her system and she forgot why she was even annoyed in the first place. She refilled her cup one more time and refilled Shana's as well. "Let's have some fun, shall we?" Paige asked Shana. Shana tapped her cup against Paige's and sipped it, motioning Paige to follow her.

Before following Shana out to where ever they were heading, Paige was stopped by a pretty redhead. The girl introduced herself and Paige shook her hand, but she didn't even bothered to remember the girl's name. She looked around, searching for Shana, but she couldn't locate Shana anywhere. However, Paige spotted Emily and Samara heading her way so she turned her attention back to the redhead, pretending to be interested in what the girl has to say.

Emily was holding Hanna and Aria's cup while Samara was holding hers and Spencer's. They were forced to go on a refill run together. Emily assumed that her friends wanted her to have some alone time with Samara, to get to know her better. All night, Emily was enjoying the company of Samara. She was easy to talk to and a great listener, very attentive. Not to mention, Samara made her laugh, almost the entire night she's been near the girl. That was a huge plus in Emily's book. They walked up to the keg and stopped. Samara begun to fill up her and Spencer's cup while Emily waited patiently nearby. Emily placed all the other cups down on the island and she started looking around. Emily was too busy hanging out with her friends and Samara that she forgot to see if anyone else she knew came to Mona's not-so-small-get-together.

Emily spotted a couple of familiar faces that she saw everyday in her classes. She turned the opposite direction and spotted Paige a couple of feet away. She was chatting with a redhead and the girl was getting very hands-on with Paige. Emily made a face as she continued to observe the pair. She was getting bothered again that Paige was talking to another girl. Why was she getting bothered, she wondered. The fact the redhead was lending too close to Paige's face was starting to really bug her. Before she could mentally tell herself to knock it off, she felt a poke on her arm.

"Emily?" Samara was trying to get her attention for the past minute.

"Huh? Sorry." Emily looked back, giving her an apologetic smile. She looked down and all the cups were refilled.

"Do you want to go say hi? I don't mind. I'll just head back with everyone's drinks." Samara offered. That was sweet of Samara, but Emily didn't want to abandon the girl. Beside, she couldn't single handedly carry all of the drinks back to her friends.

"No. It's okay. I can go say hi later." Emily said, forced a smile, and picked up the other two cups. Samara smiled at her and walked with her back to their spot where all of Emily's friends were waiting.

Paige glanced behind her again and watched as Samara and Emily walked back to their friends. Paige looked back to the redhead, realizing that maybe she _does like _Emily. That would explain why Paige felt the need to go out of her way to avoid Emily for the past couple of days. Avoiding Emily was not going to fix the problem, because the problem still existed. That would also explain why Paige was feeling this way. _Jealousy. _This is jealousy, she thought, another first in her book. _Shit! This is not happening._

The redhead lend closer to Paige and bit her lip, looking like she was debating something in her head. She leaned in and whispered. "Do you want to go somewhere …a little more private?"

The redhead suggested, trailing one of her hand down to Paige's waist and pulled Paige closer by her belt. The redhead was very aggressive in her approach, Paige thought. Usually, she would never accept this type of invitation, but tonight, she needed the distraction. Why? One, she finally has admitted to herself that she likes Emily, but Emily is into Samara. Problem number one. Therefore, she should forget it, she told her self. Two: she's Paige McCullers. She never feels this way for _any_ girl. She never has liked anyone more than friends. _Ever._ Problem number two. Maybe hooking up with someone will make her forget about Emily momentary, but that was what she needed right now, a moment where Emily was not on her mind.

"Sure." Paige forced a smirk. The redhead slides her other hand down Paige's arm and into her hand. She grabbed Paige's hand and led her down the hallway. Paige glanced back and caught Emily looking at her. _Does she want to go through with this? _Paige saw Emily frowned at her and she turned her attention back to the redhead. _She needs to go through with it._ She can do this, she thought, just like old times. No strings attached. One night of meaningless fun.

They entered the first room on the left side of the hallway. Once inside, the redhead pushed Paige against the door and attacked her lips, not wasting any time. Paige returned the kiss with the exact amount of force, but something wasn't feeling right with Paige. There was no lavender scent that reached her nose or the taste of vanilla on her tongue. She felt a pair of hands creeping into her jacket and sliding it off her shoulder. These pair of hands were not soft and tender, but rough and foreign. Paige wiggled her jacket off her arms and threw it down to the ground where she was standing. The redhead grabbed her, turned her around, and aggressively pushed her on the bed. Paige was taken back before the girl straddled on top of her. She peeled Paige's tank off of her and undid her belt, but didn't undo Paige's pant. Paige didn't know what to do next because this was getting too intense, too quick for her. Paige tried to dismiss the discomfort and forced her mind to shut off. Paige moved her hand up and cupped the redhead's face as she trailed the kiss down to the other girl's neck and collarbone. Paige shoved her hands in the girl's hair to pull her closer, but the hair texture was not silky and smooth, making Paige pull back a bit. _This girl is not Emily._

In mid-kiss, Paige realized that she couldn't do this. She couldn't go any further because it didn't feel right to her. _This doesn't feel natural. _Paige stopped and gently pushed the girl, giving her a sign that she didn't want to continue, but the other girl didn't budged. The other girl continued to kiss Paige's neck as her hands wander down Paige's stomach, quickly moving below Paige's waistband. Paige tried to push a little harder, but the girl insisted to not stop. Paige was running out of ideas so she had to flip them both over and pinned the girl under her. The other girl seemed to have got the wrong idea and got more excited, but Paige shook her head.

Paige shoved her self off the bed and said. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this right now."

Paige bent down and grabbed her jacket. Paige took a minute or two to re-do her belt and put her tank back on. She opened the door and shut it behind her. Thank goodness she escaped that girl. _Whew._ She turned so she could go back to the kitchen to get something to drink when a figure stood in front of her gave her the exact same shock facial expression she has on her face.

"Sorry. I was looking for the bathroom." Emily avoided eye contact with Paige as she witnessed Paige, disheveled, leaving one of the bedrooms. Emily saw Paige early, being lead away by the redhead, but Emily didn't want to know where they were going or what they would be doing. Emily tried to focus her attention on her friends and Samara, but that sight just bothered her. In the back of her mind, she was in denial that Paige was that type of girl. The type that hook-up at parties, but seeing Paige so surprised in front of a bedroom door, proved to Emily that she was wrong about Paige. Paige _was_ that type of girl that uses other girl and has meaningless flings at parties.

The bedroom door opened and the red-hair girl walked out. Emily looked at her. She also looked disheveled. Emily concluded that she didn't know Paige well if she was shocked at witnessing this. The redhead looked back and forth from Emily to Paige and Paige to Emily. She excused her self quietly and disappeared into the crowd.

"It's not what you think." Paige started, trying to grab Emily's attention.

"Excuse me." Emily said, still not looking at Paige. "I need to find the bathroom." Emily just wanted to get out of there. She threw both of her hands up in the air, not letting Paige get a chance to grab her. Emily squeezed past a couple of people, making her escape. Paige raked her hand through her hair in frustration and sighed. This night just keeps on getting better and better, she thought. She slipped on her jacket when she heard a familiar voice.

"Looks like you need this." Shana walked in front of Paige and handed her a cup of beer. "You look like shit. That girl must have rocked your world in there." She pointed to the room and laughed.

"Shut. Up. Shana." Paige emphasized each word. She needed a lot of beer to make her self forget that Emily just witnessed her getting out of a room with a random girl.

Paige _wa_s jealous that Emily was flirting with someone else at the party and she thought it was a good idea to have a random hook-up, but it didn't work. Emily still ran through her mind the entire time. Now she felt like she needs to find Emily and explain. She felt like she needed to explain why she have been avoiding her for the past couple of days and explain that _nothing_ happened with the redhead in that room. She placed her cup of beer down on the nearest flat surface and walked towards the bathroom.

Emily took her time in the bathroom, mostly to replay what she just witnessed early. Her heart completely sank when she saw Paige exiting that room. Seeing someone she liked hooking-up with someone else was beyond irritating, especially now that she was ready to move forward with her life. But then again, Paige and her were just friends. Nothing more. It was clear now that liking Paige was a mistake, she thought. Paige was unpredictable and she does whatever she wanted. Paige is _capable_ of hurting her just like Maya.

She looked in the mirror and straightened her self out. Get over this crush. Paige is not right for her, Emily told her self. She breathed in and out deeply, composed her self. She was ready to go home. Emily checked the mirror one more time and opened the bathroom door. Paige was standing on the other side of the hallway, waiting for her. _Sigh_. Emily rolled her eyes and tried to walk pass Paige, but Paige quickly reacted and blocked her, placing her hand on Emily's arm.

"Emily." Paige said softly.

"What?" Emily answered frostily, refusing to look at Paige's face. She couldn't help it, but sound so cold towards Paige.

"What you saw earlier." Paige paused, thinking clearly on how to articulate herself effectively to Emily. "It was not what you think."

Emily looked up at Paige and snapped. "You don't owe me an explanation."

Paige looked back and studied her face. "Oh-kay," Paige said, still taken back at Emily's tone with her.

"Are you done?" Emily asked coldly. Damn, she was really pissed, Paige thought. Paige still stared at her, not sure what to make of Emily's anger.

"Is there a problem here?" They both turned their heads. Samara was standing towards the end of the hallway, sternly looking at Paige. Emily's knight-in-shiny-armor to the rescue, Paige thought. Paige turned her attention back to Emily, threw both hands in the air, and said, "Nope. No problem."

Emily walked passed Paige, bumping into her shoulder, but Emily didn't care. Emily needed to get out of there and Samara intervened at the right moment. "I'm ready to leave. Can you take me home, please?" Emily asked, pleading.

"Sure thing." Samara smiled gently. They both walked out of Mona's house together and reached the sideway before Samara continued to walk on to go grab the car.

Emily was tired and exhausted. Emily felt her heart swelling with disappointment, causing her to replay those images in her head over and over again. She was getting sadder as she stood there, waiting for her ride. Tears began to fill her eyes again and she was telling herself to not cry over this stupid _Paige _thing. It was a crush. Paige was not her girlfriend so Paige could do whatever she wanted and it was none of Emily's business. However, it still hurt. This is so stupid! Why does she feel like crying? Emily thought. Emily didn't get a chance to finish her thought when a car honk interjected, causing her to stop thinking. Emily straightened her self out and walked towards Samara's car, forcing her self to not display any signs of sadness in front of her new friend.

The drive home was a quiet one as Emily and Samara didn't know what to talk about since the run-in with Paige at the party. Emily wished that she didn't have use Samara as a scapegoat, but she didn't know what else to do. The girl showed up at the right moment so Emily just ran with it. Samara pulled into the Fields' driveway. Emily couldn't wait to rush into the house and try to forget that she saw Paige at the party tonight. She hurriedly unbuckled herself from the seat and grabbed the door handle, but Samara lend over, placed her hand on Emily's arm, and stopping her. Emily slowly turned back around, not certain how to deal with the awkwardness that was about to come.

"Uh…I had a great time tonight, Emily." Samara withdrew her hand and smiled sweetly at Emily.

"Yeah. Me too." Emily said, not knowing what else to add to her reply.

"Maybe we could grab some dinner…sometimes…or hang out again." Samara quickly added. "If you don't want to, I totally understand. No pressure."

Emily looked at the girl, not knowing where to begin to process everything. She forced a smile and said. "Sure." It was the least she could do since she was the one that asked Samara to take her away from the party and give her a ride home. They are just going to go hang out as friends, no big deal, Emily thought. Emily really liked hanging out with Samara, but throughout the night that was no spark between them. Emily felt no intense chemistry or draw to Samara. Not like the way she felt with Paige.

"Here. Give me your phone." Samara gestured out her hand in front of Emily. Emily sat there staring at the girl's hand. Should she exchange numbers with Samara? After a minute, Emily pulled out her phone from her back pocket and placed in Samara's hand. There was no harm, she ruled. She was just making a new friend. As long as Emily keep the boundaries clear, then Samara wouldn't get any wrong ideas.

Samara took it and began to tap in her number into Emily's phone. Emily sat there staring. Everything was beginning to feel overwhelming at the moment. After another minute, Emily heard a foreign ringtone that she didn't realized, assuming that Samara used Emily's phone to call her phone to save Emily's number.

"Okay. Done." Samara handed Emily's phone back with a smile. "You have my number. Text me and we'll hang out."

Emily nodded, smiled politely at Samara, grabbed her phone, and opened the door. She quickly exited the vehicle and made her way to her front door. She turned around and waved a casual good-bye before entering her house. She sighed when she entered her room and flopped on her bed. This was definitely too much for one night.

* * *

**Let me know what you think. Please review it. PM me. **

**P.S. Please also forgive me if there were any grammar errors :/**

**Until next time. Cheers**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! Favs! And Follows!**

**All right, guys. Two words: Locum Tenens. It's a Paily fiction and it's sooo good. If you haven't read it, you should start **

**Every Friday, after finishing reading the new chapter, I just want to curl up in a ball, wish that the next chapter would be updated next day lol.**

**I'm sorry I lied. I haven't been updating frequently as much as I wanted to for the last month. I'll make up for that this month. Pinky swear!**

**Dayabieberxo: **_Miscommunication is one of the biggest things that could plague any relationship, but for two people who are trying to figure out their feelings; it is, sometimes, easier to assume the worse than finding out the truth. Especially when jealousy is present for both people, things could get messy and complicated, but Paige and Emily will figure everything out soon. _

**Saii79: **_People do stupid things when he or she can't figure out what to do about his or her feelings. From season 1, I felt that a lot of Paily's problems were their lack of communication with each other and how to deal with new situations or circumstances. For the better or worse, in this story, things will work out one-way or another. :p _

**Miss9113: **_Stupid, I know…_

**Arluke676: **_Thank you! I think we will see more of that side of Paige somewhere down the road __ Stay tuned._

**Del: **_I don't like drama either, but…I had to put some in the story. Life is full of drama and I wanted this story to be as realistic as possible. Shit happens sometimes. Things and people could slip through our hands if we don't do something about it. When Paige figures that out or if she figures it out, she will definitely need to make up for wasted time. So that's all I can tell you right now without giving too much away __ But stay tuned._

**Bluejayhotti: **_Thank you and yay! Glad you love the story so far._

**And thank you for all the guests for the reviews!**

**Okay, back to the story, I know everyone is eager for Paige and Emily to be a couple already. However, that will happen…eventually.**

**So…Enjoy!**

* * *

This was definitely too much for the end of a regular school day.

The bell rang and Paige barely made it in time for Mr. Fitz class. She was too busy talking to the girl next to her locker; she didn't even notice that her friends have all left for class already. She even looked at Patrick for help, but he intentionally left her to fend for herself with that talkative girl. _Thanks Patrick._

She hurried to her seat, but before heading in that direction, she glanced over to where Emily usually sat and found Emily's eyes on her. At least, Emily wasn't avoiding eye contact with her so that was a good sign. Maybe Paige could catch up with her later and they could hash out their problems with each other, because this was getting too childish and Paige couldn't stand it any much longer. Emily has been intentionally avoiding her for the past couple of days and it was time for them to talk like adults, Paige decided, but first she has to get through this class.

"Nice, sis." Noel said aloud, clapping his hands, dramatically giving her a standing ovation.

Paige rolled her eyes at him and took her seat right next to his. Noel has always been quite the exaggerator and Paige didn't want to deal with it right now. Since Mr. Fitz hasn't appeared for class yet, Noel took the liberty to catch up on what went down over the weekend since he missed out on all the festivities.

"So…I heard you got _some._" Noel quietly said to her. Paige made a face of disgust and chose to ignore him. Like a pesky brother, Noel found it amusing so he pushed on.

"So?" Nudging his elbow against Paige's. She was getting more irritated as Noel kept looking at her, waiting for her to give him answer.

"So nothing, Noel." Paige said, unintentionally for it to be loud enough for everyone in the classroom to hear.

It certainly got Emily and all her friends' attention. Noel backed off and turned to the rest of their friends.

"Fill me in." Noel demanded. "What did I miss?"

"Better question is: where were you last weekend, _bro_? And for the past three days? Mayor McCullers is not going to be happy about this, especially with everything else that is going on, you know that right?" Paige said, changing the subject. Noel turned back around to look at Paige. He raised his eyebrow, mischievously and said quietly enough for only Paige to hear.

"I was _busy." _

Noel didn't have to explain any further to Paige. She knew him well enough to know that he was probably hanging out with a new girl all weekend. It surprised Paige that no one else has figured it out yet. Paige knew Noel well enough to know his behavior patterns.

Noel was always the player that he said he was. He never denied being one, but yet, his girlfriend still hung around. Paige didn't understand that relationship at all. What does Noel have to offer to make Jenna turn a blind-eye towards his weekend adventures?

She shook her head at her train of thoughts. There was something else that bugged her. For the past three days, she has no clue where her brother has been or what he has been doing. This was definitely odd behavior coming from Noel Kahn. Paige dismissed that thought aside, hoping that maybe later she would be able to figure it out.

"All right, class. I'm sorry about the little delay, but let's get class started." Mr. Fitz entered the classroom with his copy of the assigned literature reading. "We're going to have an in-class discussion today. Hopefully, it will help you out with the writing by understanding what your classmates thought about certain themes or chapters. Let's begin."

Mona raised her hand first. "I thought that the book was too _lovey dovey_ for my taste and I didn't really care for the ending very much either."

Mr. Fitz nodded. "Thank you, Mona." He pointed to Lucas.

"Um…I found it more tragic when the main characters didn't have good timing." Lucas said timidly, before looking away and down at his desk. "That could have been one of the contributing factors to their fates in the story."

"Yes, Spencer?" Mr. Fitz looked directly at her.

"The novel has nothing to do with a love story really. The love story was just a cover up of what lay underneath, the real issues, which were social and economical problems. The novel was about everything that symbolized the roaring 20's. Gatsby's and Daisy's story were different metaphors that represented those significance throughout the novel."

Mr. Fitz nodded again. "Okay. That was a good start class, but Lucas brought up a good theme from the book. Timing." Mr. Fitz got up and started to walk around the classroom, up and down the aisles. "Who in here thought Gatsby had bad timing? Or was it Daisy who had bad timing?"

Mr. Fitz waited for someone to raise his or her hand, but no one made a move. Emily timidly raised her hand. "Yes, Emily. Thoughts?"

"Um…I thought that Gatsby had wrong timing throughout the entire novel. His struggle came from his desire to fit into a wealthier class where most of old money came from. He never belonged in that social class anyways. What he had in front of him was the chance to be with Daisy, but he foregoes his love to fulfill his dreams and ambitions in order to 'fit into her world.' He wanted it all when she never wanted that for 'them.' She was content with how he was and how she was. However, it was not enough. From the beginning, he never had a chance with her because Gatsby wanted more. Waiting for the perfect moment made him miss out on everything including Daisy because he was chasing after something that was never there in the first place."

"Very good, Miss Fields." Mr. Fitz exclaimed. "That is definitely one way to look at it. Anyone want to disagree?"

"Yes, Paige?" Mr. Fitz said, pointing to her. Emily immediately looked over at Paige. She couldn't believe that out of everyone in class, Paige was the one who raised her hand. What was Paige going say about Emily's opinion?

Paige turned around towards Emily and the class. She slowly thought about what she wanted to say and how she wanted it present her opinion on the matter without offending Emily.

"I will have to disagree with Emily." Paige turned and winked at Emily. Emily blushed automatically, looking away. It was not fair. Every time, Paige winked, Emily blushed. It was like Paige knew how to thaw the ice with Emily and she wasn't going to give in. Right now, Emily was trying her best to remain neutral, not letting Paige know how quickly her heart was beating.

"Wanting more isn't a crime. Wanting to fit in isn't a crime either. To look at it from a different perspective, I would say that Jay Gatsby was a man that had great patience and courage instead of bad timing. He went outside of his element to create opportunities to gain things he wanted for himself. He should be admired for his efforts." Paige finished, glancing back at Emily.

"That's interesting that you would see it from that point of view." Shana huffed, aloud, folding her arms across her chest. Paige's irritation immediately kicks in at the sound of Shana's voice. She knew that Shana was going to give her a hard time with this one, just like with all of Paige's other opinions on other things.

"Why not?" Paige said, shrugging her shoulders. She would expect a couple of people to disagree with her on the topic, but she didn't expect Shana to be the first to voice her option. However, she shouldn't be so surprised because Shana always want to make things more complicated than how it really is.

"I agree with Emily, actually." Shana said, looking smug. "Metaphorically speaking, ducks and chickens don't mix. They're two different type of animals. No matter how hard a duck tries, it will never become a chicken. It's a waste of time to become something you're not. A duck will never get everything a chicken gets in a chicken world."

"Now you're just turning this into a conflict of social status." Paige pointed out. "We were talking about timing." Paige prayed that this didn't turn into a bickering war between Shana. That was the last thing she wanted to do in front of everyone in the class, because she knew that the both of them were very stubborn and things could get out-of-hand real quick.

"My point exactly." Shana smirked at Paige. "Gatsby, who is a duck, was destined to have bad timing because he didn't see himself as a duck. Timing comes from your abilities to do things. Gatsby was born into a family of no means, "a duck family." Therefore, limiting his abilities to create good timing. Like what Emily said earlier, he was chasing after something that was out of his capabilities, causing him to be a victim of his own bad timing."

The bell rang, snapping Paige out of trying to comprehend Shana's huge rant of non-sense. Thank goodness this class was over. She was getting the feeling that Shana was hinting something else to her instead of keeping the discussion about the Great Gatsby.

"Okay class, good discussion. Have a great day." Mr. Fitz said, dismissing the class.

Shana lend over and whispered to Paige. "Remember that, you're a duck just like the rest of us." Yup, Paige was right. She never forgot the conversation they had in the cafeteria, but now she couldn't think about that. She had to go catch up with Emily and try to talk to the girl.

Paige grabbed her book and her bag off of the floor before running after Emily. She sprinted down the hallway and looked both ways. No Emily in sight. Where did Emily go, she asked her self. Paige ran out of the front doors of the school before she spotted a dark-hair girl walking down the steps. Paige picked up her speed again as she weaved through the crowd of students.

"Hey." She placed her arm out in front of Emily to stop her.

"Hey." Emily said, looking at Paige. Emily was unsure how to act around Paige since she acted too distant towards her the last time they were around each other. Hopefully, Paige wasn't mad at her because she felt bad for her behavior towards the Paige that night.

"Want to walk together to the police station?" Paige said, trying hard to not sound so out of breath. " We're heading in the same direction, right?"

Paige smiled at Emily, hoping that maybe this was a great icebreaker since their previous awkward encounter.

Her face dropped when Emily didn't reply. "Come on. You can't still be mad at me since that party." She was beginning to sound very hopeless.

"No, I'm not mad at you. I'm not heading to the police station just yet. I'm going to meet up with Samara." Emily said, watching Paige flinched at the mention of Samara's name.

Since the party, Samara and Emily have been casually texting each other and they have hung out a couple of times. Emily really enjoyed Samara's company because her presence kept Paige off of Emily's mind. It wasn't like hanging out with her friends. Her friends always talked about couple things and it made Emily feel left out because she was the only single one in their group of friends. It was nice to hang out with someone else who was not in a committed relationship.

Paige stood up straight and fixed her bag strap on her shoulder.

"Oh. Okay." She said in a discontent tone. "Maybe next time then."

She tried to say it as coolly as possible, but it was hard to hide her disappointment. Hopefully, it sounded casual enough where Emily brought it.

"I'm sorry. See you later?" Emily asked, smiled apologetically at Paige before walking away. Emily didn't miss the change in mannerism with Paige. She sensed that maybe Paige didn't like her hanging out with Samara, but they were just hanging out as friends.

Emily received a text from Samara earlier, asking her if she wanted to meet up before Emily's shift at the café. Emily didn't want to because she just wanted some time to her self, but she felt bad for declining Samara's offer so she agreed.

Samara has been very understanding and very patient with Emily. She was well spoken and very well mannered. All of her friends liked Samara. Not to mention the girl was a looker, yet Emily never really _noticed_ her. Since the party at Mona's, they have been hanging out, but to Emily, she was still trying to get to know the girl better. So far, Samara has been great friend.

Emily walked into the café shop with her apron in her hand. She still has thirty minutes before her shift so she decided that she could just hang out with Samara until then. She entered the lounge area when she spotted the blonde girl reading a magazine, waiting for her.

"Hey." Emily said, smiling down at her.

Samara returned the smile and patted the seat next to her. Emily followed her motion and sat down. "How was class? Anything interesting?"

Emily shrugged. "Nothing much. Had some in-class discussion. Most of the time, it just turns into a heated debate between two people. You know how that goes."

"Yeah. Who got into it this time?" Samara asked, looking down at her magazine and not taking her eyes off of it.

"Paige and Shana." Emily said flatly. She didn't want to talk about it at all. Emily looked around the room and noticed that the café was getting a little bit busier ever since she arrived.

Samara quietly laughed. "Those two. They bicker about everything. I don't know how they didn't kill each other when they were dating. Or how they're not killing each other now."

"They dated?" Emily asked almost sounding out of breath, still not sure if she heard Samara correctly or not.

"Um…I think so. Or they had a fling and I guess it didn't work out?" Samara answered vaguely, returning her attention to the magazine.

_What. _Emily was taken back with that. Paige and Shana? They dated and still reminded close friends? How can any two people do that, Emily wondered. Exes remaining friends with each other would make any situation tricky. Not to mention the awkwardness around each other. From the beginning, Emily had a feeling that maybe there was something going on between them two, but Paige has never mentioned to Emily that they have dated each other before.

"Hey. Question. The Mayor's banquet? Do you want to go with me?" Samara asked while pointing to the flyer that was sitting in the middle of the table.

Emily cocked her head to one side, trying to read the flyer. So Rosewood is throwing a big party for the mayor? She wondered if the whole town was going to attend. Of course, the whole town would attend, she thought. Nothing else occurs in this little town, beside crazy stuff so if there was going to be a reason to celebrate, then this town is going to take it.

"Come on. Sounds fancy." Samara nudged her shoulder against Emily's, trying to get Emily to agree to go with her. "It will be _funnn_. Come on, Emily. "

Emily laughed, giving in. "Okay. Okay. Sure, why not?"

Samara leaned in closer and said. "Never had a pretty girl as my date to a _banquet _before. I'm definitely liking Rosewood more and more."

Emily forced a smile and gulped. Samara was leaning in way too close for Emily's comfort._ Crap_. She was supposed to keep everything casual and not give Samara the wrong impression. Emily needs to friend-zone Samara soon before things accelerate too quickly and someone gets hurt.

Zach appeared from nowhere and cleared his throat.

"Emily, I'm sorry to interrupt you ladies, but I was wondering if you could help me out with the register for a bit."

Emily looked up and smiled. "Yeah. Sure."

For a second, she was starting to get uncomfortable and she didn't know what to do. Thank you Zach, for the save, Emily said in her head.

She turned to Samara and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"No. No. I totally understand. We can hang out another time. Don't worry." Samara smiled back at Emily. "Go help Zack out."

This was a random time of the day for the café to be busy, but Emily thought that it was better than to be bored during her entire shift. Working at the café has been a nice gig for Emily, not only does she earned a bit of money for personal usage, but she loved the customer interactions. Zack was kind enough to create a flexible working schedule for her and she has learned a lot from him. It has definitely made her wonder if she could see her as a business owner like Zach.

After helping all the customers out, she walked around the café and wiped down the tables in the lounge around. Every once in a while, she would look over and see that Samara was still diligently reading away, not minding the crowds around her. Emily felt bad that she agreed to meet up with the girl and then ending up leaving the girl hanging out by her self, but that was how it happened.

"Hey, Emily. Can you help that customer that just walked in please?" Zach called out from behind the espresso machine, focusing on making all the drinks correctly.

"Sure." Emily answered back, picking up her wet towel and throwing it into the dirty bin under the counter. She stood back up and asked. "Hey. What can I get started for you?"

Emily froze in her tracks, staring at the girl. The redhead cocked her head to one side as she continued to read the menu of drinks. She glanced at Emily and something clicked in her head.

"You look familiar. Have I met you somewhere before?" The redhead asked.

Of course, she doesn't remember where and when she saw Emily. Emily forced a smile and answered back. "I believe we kind of met at Mona's party."

The redhead smiled and shook her head, looking like she was still in debate to what to order and trying to remember that specific night.

"I'll have a skinny vanilla latte, please?" The girl decided.

"Okay, that will be $3.50, please." Emily grabbed a marker and began to write down the drink order on the cup as the redhead dug in her purse to find some cash.

"Man, I don't really remember that night. I got _too_ drunk." She gave a little amused laughter, but Emily didn't find her very funny at all. The redhead found a five-dollar bill and placed it on the counter. "Hopefully, I don't run into that girl again."

Emily curiously looked up from the espresso machine, arching her eyebrow, assuming that the redhead was talking about Paige. She snapped on the lid and handed the drink to the girl. Emily grabbed the money casually and opened the register drawer.

"Why? Did she do something?" Emily carefully slipped that question into the conversation, trying to get more information on that night.

"No. No." The redhead shook her head and laughed quietly. "I think I was too aggressive and scared her off. I'm so embarrassed."

Emily looked at her and handed her back the change. So Paige was telling the truth, she thought. Nothing happened between them and yet Emily acted like Paige has wrong her. Emily suddenly felt a tinge of relief, but then she remembered that she has been the one who have been blowing Paige off and avoiding the girl. Since that weekend, Paige has called and texted Emily a couple of times, but she refused to pick up or reply. _So childish. _When Paige caught up with her at school or at the station, Emily made up some excuse to leave. She felt so stupid for not _giving_ Paige a chance to explain her self. _So stupid._

"Well…thanks." The girl said cheerfully, raising her cup in the air, and walked out of the café. Emily snapped out of her thoughts when Zach called out for her help again. Emily went into the back and looked for additional items. She found some cups and placed all the cups in stacks behind the espresso machine when she was suddenly reminded that Samara was still here in the café.

"Hey Emily. I got to run, but I'll text you soon. Can't wait for our date." Samara flashed a smile at Emily before turning and rushing out of the café.

"Huh?" Emily stood there with her mouth open, not remembering that she agreed to go with Samara earlier, to the Mayor's banquet next week. Crap, how did she not remember? The only thing that occupied her mind, at the moment, was that she needed to find Paige, apologize, and fix things.

* * *

To apologize, one must be the bigger person and admit his or her faults first. Emily sighed as she realized she has made a _huge_ mistake. Not only does she look childish and selfish, she straight out look dumb. A couple of days have passed since she found out the truth from the redhead and she has raked her brain to find the best way to apologize to Paige, but she has not come up with anything great. It only took her more than two days to save up enough courage to be where she was standing. That was a good enough start.

Standing in front of the police station, with two coffee cups in her hands, she hoped that Paige was here tonight. She looked at the entrance one more time and she sighed. It was hard for her to swallow her pride and admit that she has made a mistake, but it was time for her to be an adult and go apologize.

Once inside, Emily was nervously trying to get out of people's way as everyone in the station were hustling and trying to complete his or her tasks. From afar, Emily could see Paige, working hard on finishing reports. Paige looked so distressed and frustrated, which made Emily feel even worse about what has been happened for the past two weeks between them. Emily has not been a good friend to the girl.

With one more look at Paige, Emily told her self to walk over there. Emily exhaled and remained calm as she counted how steps it took for her to reach her mother's desk. The nerves crashed her system as she got closer and closer to Paige. How will Paige react to her? Will she accept Emily's apology and forgive her? _Please, please accept her apology. _

"Hi." Emily said quietly. She stopped short in front of the desk and looked down at Paige. Thoughts were flying, in her head, at a hundred miles per hour. She was getting overwhelmed with all the things she wanted to say, and her nerves were not helping her situation at all.

Paige sat up straight and stared at Emily, wondering why Emily was here. No emotions yet, but Emily had a feeling this was not going to be an easy conversation.

"Hey." Paige said flatly. "Your mother is busy in a meeting. She should be done any minute. I can tell her later that you're looking for her."

"I didn't come to see her. I came to see you." Emily looked down at the floor nervously, hoping that her plan of apologizing will go smoothly. "Can we talk?"

Paige nodded and Emily took the seat next to her. Emily frowned and couldn't decide where to start. Just do it, she told her self. _Start apologizing_. This was her chance and she was going to take it. She has to be the first one to make a move and mend their relationship. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior towards you at Mona's party."

Paige looked over at her with a blank expression, not sure how to deal with this. She couldn't just easily forgive the girl, but she knows that it takes a lot for a person to admit that he or she was wrong. Beside, this was Emily. Paige could never be mad at her, even for five seconds.

Emily placed one of the cups of coffee on the table and scooted it closer to Paige.

"I'm sorry I acted all weird and I'm sorry for not giving you a chance to explain your side of things. That is not how a friend should treat another friend. I actually ran into the redhead, a couple of days ago, at the café. She was fully embarrassed by her behavior and she told me that nothing happened between you guys."

Paige continued to stared at Emily and just nodded to everything Emily was telling her, wondering why Emily was so mad at her over that situation.

"Even since that bike ride, I thought that you and I have became better friends. Then I don't know. I felt like you were pulling away. It upset me because I didn't understand why you were acting that way. After that I saw you at the party, acting like nothing has happened and that made it worse for me. It was a snowball of frustration that just went completely downhill. I'm sorry for acting so distant towards you when you didn't nothing wrong."

Paige looked away, trying to decide what should she do. It still doesn't explain why Emily was frustrated with her for what happened at the party.

Emily creased her eyebrows together in fear that Paige was still mad at her.

"I'm really sorry. It was stupid. Can we just go back to normal like how we were before?" Emily asked anxiously, realizing that she missed their friendship a lot, now that she was standing in front of Paige.

A couple of seconds passed by before Paige answered.

"I'm sorry, too." Paige finally said quietly. "For avoiding you. It was dumb, to be honest. Running away from your problems never solves anything." Might as well apologize also, Paige thought, and get this burden off of her shoulder.

"Why though?" Emily drew her eyebrows together and sounding very small. "Was it something I did?"

Paige shook her head. "No."

Emily still had the look of concern on her face so Paige continued.

"I was conflicted and I needed some time to figure something out." She was trying her best to keep her answer as vague as possible. She didn't want to blurt out the truth. It didn't feel like the right time for Paige.

"Did you figure it out?" Emily asked curiously. She wondered what was it that Paige needed to figure out. It must have been something very personal if Paige needed a lot of time and space to figure it out.

Paige looked straight directly into Emily's eyes and answered. "Yeah. I figured it out." Emily gave her a shy smile that melted her heart. _Holy cow. _She definitely has figured it out. She likes Emily a lot and she missed seeing Emily everyday. Seeing Emily standing in front of her makes her heart act funny again.

"So we're okay now?" Emily asked, anxiously waiting for an answer from Paige.

"Yeah. We're good." Paige said, smiling at Emily. "Since you bribed me with coffee." She grabbed the coffee cup in front of her and took a sip, hoping that the joke help lighten the mood. She looked up at Emily and smiled. Paige missed this. Whatever they had, she missed it over the course of two weeks of miscommunication.

"You know apologizing to someone and admitting that you're in the wrong is very difficult. I figure that bringing you coffee would be a good starting point." Emily explained.

"How can I stay mad at a girl who brought me coffee when I needed it?" Paige smirked and took another sip. Lately, she has been too busy with event planning and she haven't had any time to do anything else including school work, track meets, and sleep.

Emily playfully rolled her eyes at Paige's comment and smiled. Just like that, they were back to normal. Emily could finally exhale a breathe of relief. Sometimes, it would take a long period of time to get over that awkward-after-the-apology stage, but not for them. It was easy. Emily was starting to realize that a lot of things were easy with Paige, and that was what Emily wanted in her life. Things to be easy after everything she has been through for the past couple of years.

"What's going on around here? Everyone seems so busy." Emily tried to peek over to see what Paige was doing, but had no luck to understand what she was reading from the report.

"Didn't you hear? Mayor McCullers is having a _ball_." Paige said sarcastically. "And he needs the _entire _Rosewood police force to help co-organize the event for him. It's a bit much, if you ask me, but…my opinion doesn't really matter on this one."

"You mean banquet." Emily corrected, amusing by Paige's sarcasm.

"Ball. Banquet. They're all the same." Paige said, not impressed with what her father was planning to do next week, playing with her cup of coffee. "It's a huge fancy and expensive snooze-fest."

"I think it sounds fun. Rosewood needs more fun events to attend to. Lately, strange things have been happening so this is very exciting." Emily was trying to lighten the mood by being extra enthusiastic about the up-coming event.

"Whatever. I don't want to be there at all, but my dad wants me there so I have to report for duty. It's not like he notices whenever I'm around. I'm just a pawn for his campaign." Paige said bitterly.

"So I take it that you and your father don't really get along?" Emily didn't want to pry, but she didn't want to stop Paige from venting to her because it seem like she just need someone to talk to right now, about her frustration with her father's banquet.

"We don't see eye to eye. Plus we also bud heads. He's stubborn and I'm thick skinned. Hopefully, I won't get all the negative McCullers genes." Paige paused. "With my luck, they're all probably running through my veins right now. He's a decent guy. Everyone likes him but as a father, he has a lot to learn." She shrugged off the disappointment.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked curiously, not failing to notice the tone Paige was using.

"He's been absent for most of my life. He's always traveling and working. Every times, he comes home; he's always unhappy with me because I didn't meet his expectations somehow. As a daughter, it's hard to respect him, when he acts one way in front of the public and another way when he's home."

Emily soaked everything in, trying to figure out what's up with Paige and her father's relationship, but the only thing she could come up with was that their relationship seems to be very fragile.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to vent about all this McCullers bullshit." Paige chuckled embarrassingly, taking another sip of her coffee.

"It's okay." Emily smiled back sheepishly. "I like to heard you talk. It's a good way to get to know the real you." It was true. Since Paige had to put in some hours at the station, this was the only place that Emily ever gets to talk to the girl. Emily was realizing that she knew a very little about the girl's life, outside of school and the station.

Paige smirked at Emily, feeling a jolt of excitement to hear that Emily wanted to know her better. No one ever had an interest in getting to know her better. Paige liked that idea. "You know, if you just wanted to know something, you could ask me. I would tell you the truth. No lie."

"Really?" Emily arched her eyebrow, amused by Paige' honesty.

"Yup. I don't lie and I would never lie to you." Paige looked directly at Emily, sincerely said. "Why would I?"

Emily appreciated that. "So I could ask you _anything_ and you would honestly answer?"

"Yup." Paige answered with no hesitation.

"I'll keep that in mind." Emily said. She will definitely remember this for future usage. Who knows when she has to directly ask Paige for something and she needed to know the truth?

"So…am I going to see _you_ at the _banquet_?" Paige wanted to turn the conversation around and focus on Emily. Paige was hoping that maybe she would see Emily there at the banquet and it would make the day go by more pleasantly. Plus, she hasn't talk to Emily for a while and it was nice to hear her voice again. Paige didn't want their conversation to end quite yet so she was trying to stalk to a new topic.

"Yes. I will be there with everyone else in town." Emily said, as she walked over to her mother's desk and took a seat. Seems like Emily would be here for a while so might as well get comfortable and wait for her mother. Truth was she was glad that her mother was taking her time. It just meant that Emily would get to sit here and talk to Paige a bit longer.

"Better make myself comfortable because I think I might be here for a while." She said quietly to her self, but Paige heard, secretly happy when Emily took a seat. It meant that Emily wasn't going to leave soon.

Emily tossed her bag on the desk and began to pull her textbook and binder out. Paige looked over at Emily as the girl started looking troubled over her assignment, she couldn't help by smile. Emily pushed her hair out of her face and rested her head in her hands with defeat.

Paige looked back to her report and asked. "Difficult assignment?"

Emily didn't bother to look at Paige and said. "Yeah. History is not my strongest subject. I have to do well on the next exam in order to keep my grade up for swimming. You know how that goes for athletics. However, I think I have to mentally prepare myself and explain why I haven't been doing well in my history class all quarter. My parents are not going to be happy about this."

Paige nodded and looking over at the girl again. Emily was cradling her head in both of her hands and looking very worried. "History?"

"Yup. U.S. history." Emily said with a heavy sigh.

Paige debated whether or not to offer the girl some help. She was not the best history bluff, but history was one of her favorite subject in school. Therefore, she knew her history pretty well.

"If you want…I can help you." Paige said slowly, not sure if this was going to be a good idea. Maybe Emily didn't want any help from her, but she still wanted to help.

History came easy to her because it was interesting to her and she was good with dates. Plus with her father being in the political world, history was something that they both had an interest in. Therefore, when Paige was younger, she would study and read everything about every single political event just to have something to impress her father with. However, he never gave her the time of day to hold a decent conversation with her, which disappointed her tremendously, but all the trivial facts were still there in her head.

Emily looked over at Paige, careful analyzing Paige's face to see if she was being serious with the offer. Paige smiled back at Emily, thinking that maybe the girl was skeptical about taking her offer so she added, "I got a B on my last history exam and I didn't even fully prepare for it."

Emily made a face, which Paige didn't fail to notice.

"What?" Paige asked. "I like history."

Emily smiled and said, "I didn't pegged you as a history type of person."

Before they started to avoid each other, Emily would ask for Paige's help with her math assignments every time Paige was free and it helped her out a lot. Now Paige was offering to help her with history, which surprised Emily on how academically intelligent the girl was. It was not that she didn't think Paige wasn't smart, but from the outer appearance, Paige didn't look like someone who cared about school. When it comes to Paige, judging from her outer appearance would be a huge mistake because the girl continues to surprise Emily every single time.

Paige shrugged playfully and smirked. "Looks can be very deceiving."

"What else are you good at?" Emily teased, smiling back.

Paige arched her eyebrow. "A lot of things."

The truth was that due to Paige's competitive nature, she always wanted to be the best at everything she sets her mind to. She refused to believe in the impossible and love to prove people wrong. However, if she chooses to show that to people, then that was a different story.

Emily shook her head and laughed lightly. "I never know when you're being serious or when you're joking."

Paige smiled back. "Okay. What's the exam on?"

Paige neatly stacked all her reports in a pile and cleared off her desk so Emily could place her textbook between the two of them.

"Um… the 19th amendment? Hold on. Let me find the right page." Emily said as she focused on her textbook. Paige scooted her chair closer to Emily, causing her shoulder to slightly brush against Emily's. Emily frozen and her eyes darted over to Paige. Shivers traveled down and up her spine, causing her to remain still. Paige seemed to be oblivious to Emily's sudden odd behavior as she lend her face closer towards Emily's direction to get a better look at the textbook. Emily could smell a hint scent of peach traveling off of the girl, sending Emily's head in a whirlwind, and making her light headed.

"So…women's rights?" Paige asked. She was still unaware of Emily's rigid stance.

Emily quickly forced her self to re-focus and look for the correct answer. She frowned when Paige's answer matches the one in the textbook.

"Yeah. How did you know that?" Emily questioned quietly, praying that Paige would back up a little so Emily could have more space to breath, because she was feeling a little dizzy right now. Luckily, Paige leaned back in her chair, causing Emily to breathe with more ease, but the tingles were still lightly there.

Paige shrugged again and smirked. "I know my amendments. 1920."

Emily frowned again. This was getting to be really eerie because Paige was correct again. Emily looked at Paige in awe and nodded her head.

Paige beamed and asked. "Believe me now?"

* * *

Emily fidgeted with her locker combination anxiously. She has scheduled to take her history exam towards the end of the day so she could have the entire day to review, but she still felt unprepared. Once she dialed in all the correct numbers for her combination, she opened her locker, placed all her belongings inside, and grabbed her history book.

Emily checked her phone. 3:15 p.m. She still has fifteen extra minutes to quickly go over her materials before taking the exam. It has been more than 48 hours since Paige helped her with significant history facts about voting rights and women's suffrage. Emily appreciated that Paige was beyond patient with her because she knows that sometimes it could be difficult to watch her struggle with dates and terms. However, Paige never showed any signs of frustration while helping her.

Nothing makes Emily more nervous than taking an exam, especially when could determine whether or not she could keep her spots on the swim team this season. Talk about pressure. With everything that was going on right now, Emily wished that she didn't have to take this exam. However, with this exam over, she has nothing to worry for the rest of the weekend.

Emily closed her locker and walked over to a bench that sat outside of the classroom. She was chanting all the dates over and over again, but she felt like she was mixing them up. Frustrated that she hasn't memorized the order of dates yet, she opened to the voting rights chapter and a little piece of paper fell out, landing on the floor next to her foot. What could that piece of paper be, she wondered. She drew her eyebrows together in confusion. Emily didn't remember putting any pieces of paper or notes in her textbook the last time she had it. She bended down, picked up the piece of paper, and opened it.

_You will ace this exam. Stop worrying! – P_

Emily's lips grew into a smile, her heart swelled, and her stomach dropped. When did Paige slip this note into her textbook, she wondered. She smiled to her self, realizing how content this simple gesture made her. _This was a sweet surprise_. She read it one more time, then quickly folded up the note, and tucked it into her pocket. She felt a burst of new determination as she picked up her textbook again and focused on the dates once more.

The exam didn't last that long. Emily expected it to be lengthier and more difficult, but it wasn't. What was she so worried about, she asked her self. The exam wasn't that bad at all. When she turned in the exam, she felt like the world has been lifted off of her shoulders and she could finally breathe a breath of relief. The comforting thought was that she knew about 70% of the questions. Therefore, the lowest score she predicted that she could end up with is a 'C'. That was still a passing grade in Emily's book and it was good enough to hold her spot on the swimming team.

She walked back to her locker to put her textbook away and trade it for her bag. Before she got a chance to open it, she felt a buzz in her back pocket. She grabbed her phone out and saw who was calling her.

"Emily. Are you done yet?!" Hanna asked excitedly.

"Hello to you too, Hanna. I just got done with my exam. What's up?" Emily opened up her locker, put the textbook inside, and grabbed her bag.

"Dress shopping. Duh!" Hanna exclaimed, "Did you forget?"

Emily rolled her eyes. Of course not, how could she forget? The girls decided that they all needed to go dress shopping after school one day and Hanna was the only one that was really excited over the agreement.

"I remember. Don't worry." Emily chuckled and closed her locker. She threw her bag over her shoulder. "I'm coming. I just need to grab my swim bag and I'll be there. We're meeting up at Spencer's, correct?"

"Yeah." Hanna answered immediately. "Hurry! We still have to drive into the city. At this hour, there's going to be a lot of traffic. We need all the time we can get to find the perfect dress and the perfect pair of shoes!" Hanna squealed.

Emily turned the corner and walked swiftly inside the locker room. She chuckled again. "Okay! I'm coming! Bye Hanna."

Emily stopped by her swim locker and twisted the lock. She was so pre-occupied with her conversation with Hanna that she didn't even notice the figure that was walking towards her.

"Hey. How was your exam?" Paige asked, standing in her navy blue Rosewood High athlete tracksuit and her duffel bag in her hand.

Emily turned and ended up gawked at the girl, lost for words. It looked like Paige just came back from practice, as she looked extremely exhausted. Her hair was swept out of her face and pulled back in a high ponytail. Her face was flushed with the color crimson on her cheeks. The track jacket exposed a tight white tank underneath and it was clinging onto Paige's mid section. Emily's eyes swept over the girl's appearance and her mind began to wonder off to that one time when Paige's shirt accidently revealed her tone stomach. Suddenly, all Emily could think of was that image, over and over again, putting her in a trance.

Paige waved her hand in front of Emily's face, snapping her out of her staring.

"Emily? Anyone home?" Paige smirked, amused by Emily's dumbfounded expression.

"Huh? Yeah." Emily replied, blushing from embarrassment. She let go the lock on her locker and gripped on the strap of her bag as she tried to calm down from her embarrassment. _Act normal, Emily._

Paige looked intently at Emily, with a smirk, waiting for her to answer her question, but it seems like Emily was lost at the moment.

"Brutal, I take it. " Paige said, chucking at Emily.

It still hasn't hit Emily that Paige had asked her a question and was waiting for her to reply. Emily frowned her eyebrow together as she was still in a daze of confusion.

"What?" Emily finally asked back, only to cause Paige to laugh hard at the girl. Paige couldn't help it. A confused Emily was priceless, almost like a lost puppy, making something stirred inside of Paige. She suddenly felt an urge to kiss the girl, but she quickly shot that idea down. That sudden urge came out of nowhere. They just finally got to a good place again, let's not make thing awkward. Paige cleared her throat. _Emily's so cute though. _

"Um… I asked about your exam. How was it?" Paige said, re-gaining her composure and placing her duffel bag down on the bench next to where they were standing.

Emily looked back at Paige for a second and gave Paige a sweet smile. "I'm sorry. My mind was somewhere else." _Yup, it was on Paige's tone stomach_. Emily cleared her throat, hoping that it would snap her out of constantly replaying that image in her head. It was inappropriate. _Was it?_ She gulped and forced her self to act neutral.

"It went better than I thought. I knew almost every questions." Emily said, trying to thinking if that was true. "Actually, maybe 70% of the questions." Emily corrected her self.

Paige nodded. "Well, that's enough to hold your place on the swim team, right?"

"Yeah. Thank you for helping me." Emily said shyly. "And…for the note. It was very sweet."

"What note?" Paige asked, pretending she didn't know what Emily was talking about.

Emily cocked her head to one side, debating whether or not it was Paige who put that note in her textbook. She didn't know anyone else whose name began with a 'P' beside Paige. It has to be her, right?

"Stop playing. I know it was you." Emily said playfully, smiling at Paige.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Paige insisted, keeping up her act. Paige has never done that before, slipping a secret note for a girl before. It was cheesy and embarrassing, but she still did it anyways, knowing that Emily liked that type of gesture.

Emily was almost convinced, but she still didn't buy it.

"Fine. Fine. It was not you." Emily said, trying to hide her smile, but failed. Emily knew it was Paige, but yet, Paige refused to admit to it. Maybe Paige didn't want anyone else to know how sweet she really is and that was fine. Emily knew and she liked how she was one of the rare few that knew. Emily wondered who else, beside her, knew that Paige was capable of being sweet.

"Did you just come back from practice?" Emily said, trying to stalk and keep Paige here with her.

"Yeah. It was my only chance to get some laps in. In the next couple of days, I will be really busy." Paige said, picking up her duffle bag. "Anyways, I have to get going. I just wanted to see how your exam went since I ran into you here. William wants me to attend one more meeting before this weekend so I don't want to be late to that." Paige rolled her eyes and sighed.

"William?" Emily asked, disappointed that Paige will have to leave soon.

"Yeah. He's on my dad's public relation team, but he's kind of that person who tries to keep Noel and I in check during event like these." Paige explained. "So far, he's having a tough time."

Emily laughed. Of course, Paige would make things more difficult for the poor guy.

"Well, I'll see you there, right? The luncheon tomorrow?" Paige asked, trying to stalk her time also. She wanted to spend the rest of the day at the station with Emily, but she wasn't sure if Emily was going to be there this evening. Regardless, she was glad that she ran into the girl in the locker room.

"Yup." Emily said. "I'm actually going to meet up with the girls and head into the city to go dress shopping. It should be interesting."

"Fun." Paige said sarcastically. "I hate dress shopping."

"I don't have an evening gown laying around so I'm going to let the girls help me pick one out. I hate dress shopping also, but that's the appropriate attire for these events. " Emily said in a matter-of-fact.

"Is it?" Paige said with a mischievous expression that made Emily arched her eyebrow back at the girl. Emily laughed, shaking her head. Paige is definitely full of surprises. What is she going to do this time, Emily thought.

"You have something up your sleeve, don't you?" Emily asked, trying to figure out what kind of trouble Paige is going to stir up.

"What? No." Paige gasped mockingly.

Emily was going to reply, but she felt a buzz in her back pocket, interrupting her. She instantly knew who was calling her. Emily was dreading to pick up her phone so she ignored the first call. However, her phones buzzed again and this time, she couldn't ignore it. She reached in her back pocket and answered her phone.

"Hello?" Emily smiled apologetically at Paige. She just smiled and pointed in the direction that she needed to head in and waved goodbye to Emily. Emily immediately went back to her locker and tried once again to open her lock. She quickly pulled out her duffel bag and threw it over her shoulder. With the locker closed and locked, she jogged toward the exit doors.

"Emily! Where are you?!" Hanna yelled. "You were supposed to be here like 15 minutes ago! There better be a good reason why, Em!"

"I'm sorry. I got caught up with..." She was debating whether or not she should say Paige's name, but she opted out of it, "…something. I'm coming now!"

Emily didn't want to get into specific details if she told Hanna the truth. Knowing Hanna, she wouldn't let Emily get away with a simple answer and Emily didn't know how to define the relationship quite yet. Dismissing the thought aside, Emily broke into a full sprint all the way to the Hastings', thinking about the eventful weekend she has ahead of her.

* * *

**Let me know what you think. Please review it. PM me. **

**Cheers**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hello! **

**Thank you for all the reviews. I enjoyed reading every single one and getting to know what you guys are thinking about the story so far. **

_**Getlostandruncici: **__Hopefully the next couple of chapters will answer all your questions. Stay tuned. And yes, Paige is so fly _

_**Dayabieberxo: **__Sometimes it's hard to friend zone a person, but it needs to be done. Emily will figure this one out soon. _

_**Moonlightonwater: **__Not in this fic…I assure you LOL_

_**Paily: **__Yes, I will keep my promise. Scout honor! I can't even deal with Locum Tenens! Is it Friday yet?_

_**Del:**__ I got to keep you on your toes, you know? But after every storm, there's a rainbow (totes just quoted Katy Perry). So this chapter will be pretty happy…_

_**LovingEmilyx3:**__ Thank you!_

_**Lastly, to all the guests, whoever you are. Thank you for all your reviews.**_

**Okay, here's the next chapter. It's time for some happy Paily stuff LOL**

**Enjoy**

* * *

It has been a crazy hectic week for Paige, running around town, trying to get her self ready to act like the perfect Mayor's daughter. This morning, Paige had to pick up her dress from the dry-cleaners, had to stop by the hair salon, and get her self 'pretty' up. For the past couple of days, she was forced to attend etiquette courses with Noel. Talk about a boring way to waste time, Paige thought. Now she was heading home so she could meet up with Mayor McCullers' PR team to fill her in what to do or what not to do at tonight's events. Paige has been to many banquets before, but never one that was this important to her father. Considering that Nick McCullers wanted to present a good wholesome image for his next campaign, Paige was on a strict watch by everyone.

Paige looked at her phone. 8:45 a.m. She had an extra fifteen minutes to grab some food and coffee before heading back to the main house. She absent-mindedly stepped in the Rear Window café, thinking that she won't run into a familiar face this early in the morning. The door rang and the scent of coffee instantly hit Paige's face, inhaling deep. There was something about the scent of fresh ground coffee that could alone energize a person. Paige walked over and closely observed the pastry display. Everything just looked so good and she was excited to order.

"Good morning. What can I get started for you?"

Paige froze at that specific voice, feeling chills running down her spine. This was too early, she thought. Paige stood up straight and smiled before facing the girl.

"Emily. Fancy meeting you here." Paige chuckled nervously, heart beat racing excitedly.

Emily smiled back and answered. "Well, I work here. Remember?"

What were the chances that Paige would stroll in this early? Emily thought. She had just started her shift and it has not been too busy. However, she was not used to this early bird shift quick yet. With Paige standing in front of her, Emily didn't mind anymore. She felt very nervous since she has not seen the girl regularly after their run-in in the locker room. She knew that Paige was busy over the last couple of days, but Emily missed seeing her every day at school and at the station.

Seeing Emily smiling so sweetly at her, Paige's knees wanted to buckle. Don't act like a fool, Paige told her self.

"Right." Paige said, looking away, mentally kicking her self for forgetting the obvious. Her nervousness was making her look more stupid with Emily standing there and waiting for her to give her order. Calm down, Paige.

"Um…Can I get a red-eye, please?" Feeling her palms getting clammy already. Its just Emily, Paige reminded her self.

"Yes." Emily said, marking the coffee cup, without looking up. "Is that all for today?"

"Um…What's your favorite pastry here?" Paige asked, pointing to the display case. She figured that since she got this chance to talk to Emily, she might use this time to make her move. Paige instantly forgot that she has somewhere else to report to, consumed with thoughts of how to stalk her time so she could continue to spend more time here at the café, with Emily.

"Huh?" Emily said, got caught of guard. She got sidetracked when her eyes roamed over Paige's features and lingered on Paige's lips. Emily blushed with embarrassment, looking away, but hoped that Paige didn't noticed.

"What's your favorite pastry?" Paige said again. This time, Paige gave Emily her crooked smile, causing Emily to blush even more and Paige noticed. This was a good start to her morning, she noted. _A very good start._ Keep making Emily laugh, she told herself mentally. Paige liked the sound of Emily's laughter and it was contagious as she started to feel a grin growing on her lips. Maybe she does not need coffee anymore? That laughter sent shivers through her whole system and Paige liked it.

Emily cleared her throat and forced her self to look back over to the pastry display case.

"I like everything in there. Zachary really knows what he's doing when he bakes." Emily said, smiled lightly. Emily loved her sweets. Anything that had chocolate in it was her favorite and her kryptonite.

Paige nodded, trying to find something else to ask so Emily could stay here and continue to talk to her. Paige's eyes gazed over that smile. Her heart began to pick up more speed and the inside of her mouth got dried. Being around Emily always had that effect on her and Paige was slowly losing her cool. She has never lost her cool around a girl before, but apparently Emily was the first girl who could make Paige feel a lot of different things at one time.

"I'll take one of everything." Paige spitted out. That was all she could think of at the moment and she was kicking her self mentally. Lame, she told her self, forcing her to smile gently at Emily to cover up her dumb slip-up.

"Seriously?" Emily giggled at Paige's nervousness. She was getting better at reading Paige now that she knows more about the girl. "There's like 14 different types of pastries."

"I really like pastries." Paige said timidly, embarrassed to admit that to Emily. "You guys have donuts too right?" Paige asked excitedly.

Emily smiled and nodded as she grabbed an empty pink box. She put on gloves before grabbing one of each pastries and placing them in the box neatly. Paige looked around and noticed that at this hour, there were barely any customers in the café shop.

"It's not busy this morning?" Paige turned back and watched Emily. There was a good icebreaker, Paige told her self.

"It was busy earlier, but I guess people are going to get ready for the luncheon soon." Emily answered back, looking at the pink box, making sure she got one of every kind of pastries for Paige.

Paige nodded. Since today was a celebratory day, the town of Rosewood was invited to the luncheon first. The luncheon usually consisted of a small gathering, a speech, and maybe a reveal of some sort of announcement then lunch with everyone. Paige dreaded the luncheon because it didn't sound fun to her. The entire day didn't sound fun at all, actually. Paige didn't want socialize with people she didn't care about and she could care less about the day really. However, since she is the mayor's daughter, she has to play the role and mingle with everyone. After the luncheon was the banquet, which is held later on during the evening time and Paige was looking forward to that event more than the luncheon.

"What are you doing here so early?" Emily asked, breaking Paige from her dreadful thoughts of what to come today.

"Um…getting ready for Mayor McCullers's party." Paige said, rolling her eyes. "This was the only time I got for myself. Been crazy busy lately." Trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice, but it was hard not to.

Emily saw the glimpse of distant in Paige's eyes when the word 'luncheon' came up earlier and now it all made sense. Paige was not looking forward to this day at all. Emily walked over to the counter and closed the lid of the pink box.

"Yeah, I have not seen you around much lately." Understanding Paige's situation, but she missed Paige when she didn't get to see the girl around.

Emily walked over to the espresso machine and hit a couple of buttons, getting the machine ready. While making the drink, Emily was contemplating whether or not to tell Paige that she missed seeing the girl on a daily basis. Be honest for once, she told her self, but fear was slowly starting to creep in. She cleared her throat.

"Here's your coffee." Emily handed the drink to Paige, chickening out at the last minute and letting this opportunity pass by.

"Thanks." Paige said, handing the money to Emily. "Sorry, I had to go attend some course on manners and crap to prepare for today. That's why I haven't been around at the station even though I rather be there than at that course. It was a huge waste of time really." She paused. "Missed me when I was gone?" Paige asked smugly, teasing the girl.

Emily rolled her eyes playfully, but she smiled. _She did. _It was like day and night when Paige was not around. Her days were not adventurous and she missed that feeling whenever Paige was around. Emily begun to open her mouth to answer, but she got cut off when Paige pulled her phone out from her back pocket.

"I'm sorry." Paige quietly said before answering the call coldly. "What?"

Emily's heart sank again. Another chance slipped by.

"Listen, I don't care and I don't know where he is. Tell my dad to quit yelling in the back. It's not doing any good." Paige said tiredly to the phone. "How am I should to know? Ask William. Well, someone is not doing his job. Fine. Okay. Okay! I'm heading there now. Shit!"

Paige hung up the phone and sighed. Today was going to be a very long day, she concluded. Paige looked at Emily again and smiled apologetically.

"Thank you for these." Paige pointed to her coffee and box of treats. "See you at the luncheon?" Embarrassed by asking with a little hint of hope in her voice, hoping that she will see Emily there.

Emily gave Paige a small smile. "Yeah." With that, Emily watched Paige turn and walk out of the café, feeling disappointed that their time was cut short, but can't wait to see the girl later on.

* * *

Paige looked in the mirror at her self and she almost wanted to vomit. Short summer dress was never Paige's thing, but it was formal and modest enough to wear to the luncheon. Or that was what she was told by the stylist. She had no opinion on the matter and she hated that. She hated being told what to wear and what to do, but right now, she has to do what her father wanted. Let's see how much she could tolerate being bossed around before she snaps.

"Looking good, sis." Noel said, as he leaning against the doorway. Paige turned around and noticed that Noel was wearing a white buttoned-up shirt and khaki slack with a tie that matched the color of Paige's dress. This definitely painted _the_ perfect family image, she thought.

"What do you think? Are we convincing enough? The perfect ideal family of Mayor McCullers?" Noel asked sarcastically, giving Paige an exaggerated spin.

"Not bad." Paige said, grabbing her clutch off of her bed. She was surprised that Noel finally showed up at the last minute. One of the PR called her earlier, giving Paige an earful about her brother and his where about. He was nowhere to be found, but he managed to show up at the most critical time. Thank goodness. The luncheon was going to start soon, in less than an hour so Noel made it just in time.

"Were you told to come and _fetch _me?" Paige said, unimpressed with the management team's tactics. She felt like she was a pawn for the day.

"Put on your best smile, sis. Daddy dearest is waiting." Noel said, pouting at Paige.

Paige walked passed Noel and down the stairs. They both entered the formal living room and the place was crawling with Mayor McCullers' campaign team members. Great, Paige thought, so it has begun. The luncheon was starting with chaos and the feeling of agitation was irritating Paige.

Nick McCullers turned around and say loudly, startling both Paige and Noel, as they both looked around helplessly.

"Here are my kids. Paige and Noel." Nick said in his proudest tone. Paige didn't buy it and rolled her eyes, which wasn't missed by her father.

Nick walked up to them and gave them both an awkward hug as one of the photographers started snapping photos. A reporter scribbled down something on his note pad as he followed after them both around.

Paige didn't even bothered to return the hug, as she knew that all of this was a strategic stunt for her father's future political career. It was not genuine. Nick lend in.

"Don't screw this up for me, Paige." Nick whispered through his teeth before turning around and flashing a smile at the photographer.

"Noel, here, is the captain of the varsity football team at Rosewood High. He is also part of the student council team and is in the top five percent of the senior class." Nick boasted, smiling at Noel.

Noel flashed his best smile to the reporter as Nick continued to brag about Noel some more. Paige watched on with discomfort_. _She was not sure what her father was going to say about her to the reporter, considering she was not as active with her extra curriculum activities as Noel.

"Okay everyone! Attention! It's time for us to move on to the town square." Nick announced excitedly and everyone, beside Paige, cheered. She stood there dumbfounded, disappointment written all over her face, frustration brewing inside.

Nick moved away from Noel and quickly walked out of the house. The photographer and reporter instantly followed him quickly out of the door. Paige stood there with her fist clinching and tears beginning to swell in her eyes. Her father has blatantly forgot to mention her to the reporter. Nick McCullers does have another child or did he, himself, forgot, Paige thought. Feeling let down and angry was an understatement.

"Ouch. That must hurt." Noel whispered in Paige's ear before throwing his head back in laughter and exiting the house. Don't cry, she told herself. Don't be weak. She already knows how her father is so this shouldn't have been a surprise. Shaking off the feeling, she exited the house, following the trail of people walking to the town square.

The weather in Rosewood was incredibly beautiful today. The sun radiated the bright blue sky and no clouds were in sight. Downtown Rosewood was clogged with people. Balloons and banners were stringed all along the street lamps and streets. No one would get lost coming to this event, Paige thought. This was too much and way over the top.

Paige looked around and politely smiled at people who passed by. This was what she had to do for her father's sake, put on a fake smile for the people of Rosewood. There were no familiar faces in the crowd and she lost Noel at some point in this sea of bodies. She figured that maybe she should walk up to the podium area and do what she was suppose to do, but a little voice inside her head told her to stay there in her spot, right there. Paige was in mid yawn when she heard Emily's voice again for the second time today.

"Hey."

Paige quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth before turning around and greet the girl. Emily was wearing a cute black skirt and a pattern top. It was not too casual, but not too formal either. Her hair was half up and half down, but still curled lightly. Paige gulped nervously, lost at words.

"Hey." Paige said, found her voice and feeling her lip forming a smirk as she looked at Emily.

Paige was happy to see Emily here in this dense crowd of people. Since their little run-in this morning, Paige wanted to find Emily to continue to hang out with her. It would definitely make the day go by more pleasantly. Paige really liked spending time with the girl and just her luck Emily found her first.

"You look a little lost." Emily teased, smiling at Paige, noticed how Paige's face light up when she turned around. Emily's heart leaped at that acknowledgement, making her feel slightly light-headed.

Paige continued to hold her crooked smile. "Crowded space is not really my thing."

Paige shook her head and looked around to see if any of Emily's friends were near by. None of her friends are around, Paige realized. "No friends with you?"

"Um…they're around here somewhere. The reception is pretty bad right now." Emily said as she checked her phone to see if she had any missed calls or text messages from her friends.

Emily tried to look around to see if she could find her friends among this large group of people, but no such luck. Emily frowned in frustration and when she looked back at Paige, she realized that Paige has been staring at her.

"What?" Emily asked, ceasing her eyebrow in confusion.

_You look really cute._ Those words rang in Paige's head, making her heart hammer rapidly. Paige smiled gently, shaking her head, and said, "Nothing."

Paige always found Emily's frown to be so endearing. She couldn't help but stare. This was another opportunity, Paige thought, to make her move. Say something, Paige! " You look…" Paige started, but stop in mid sentence.

"EMILY!" Someone shouted.

They both turned around and found Emily's friends heading towards them. Paige sighed. Another missed opportunity, she told her self. Stop with the interruptions!

Hanna ran up and gave Emily a hug first, followed by Spencer, Aria, Caleb, and Toby.

"Hey, we have been looking for you." Spencer said, looking concerned. Spencer shot Paige a death glare before looking back at Emily. Jeez, Paige though. If an eye glare could kill, then Spencer got that one in the bag. Note to self, don't mess with a Hastings, Paige thought. She should really turn and leave since she got the feeling that it could get awkward with Emily's friends around, but she didn't want to leave quite yet.

"I was waiting for you guys, but I couldn't call or text. Bad reception due to the mass of people here." Emily explained, showing her friends her phone.

"Come on." Hanna grabbed Emily's hand and tugged it. "Mona and Lucas are waiting with your mother over there." Hanna pointed to the opposite direction from where they were standing.

"Okay. See you at the banquet?" Emily looked back at Paige before being pulled away by her friend.

"Bye, Emily." Paige said softly, lingering her stare as she watch Emily disappear in the crowd. Paige torn her eyes away and looked around. She was not sure what to do now, but then she noticed that Aria was still standing there, staring at her.

"Yes?" Paige asked, feeling uncomfortable under Aria's Bambi eyes gaze. That stare could turn any no into a yes. Each of Emily's friends really had their own deadly quirks, Paige realized. Look away quickly, Paige.

Aria shuffled towards Paige, looking down at her linked hands. "Um…I don't know where to begin." Aria said, awkwardly standing in front of Paige.

"I already know what you're going to say. Emily talked to me about it and I know that it's a big secret, but I can keep my mouth shut." Paige said, jokingly hoping that it would lighten the mood of the conversation for Aria.

"I just want to say thank you for doing this. For me. Or for Emily. It means a lot. Thank you." Aria looked up with her wide orbs, looking like she's on the verge of crying.

_Oh no. Please don't cry. _Paige smiled nervously at Aria. "No problem."

Aria smiled, turned, and took two steps before turning back to Paige.

"You know? You should go for it." Aria said, confusing Paige.

"What?" Paige asked, not sure what Aria referring to.

"Emily." Aria pointed in the direction that Emily left in. "I know you like her." Aria gave Paige a sly smile.

Paige huffed, trying to brush it off. She looked away so Aria couldn't read her expression. How the hell did Aria figure out that Paige likes Emily? They barely ran into each other and they are in two separate circles of friends. Was it that obvious?

"You should go for it." Aria said again. "Do something about it. She likes you too, if that helps." Aria smiled reassuringly before leaving Paige stand there, with her jaw hung in after shock and thoughts running a thousand miles an hour.

* * *

Emily got ready at the Marin's. All the girls agreed that they should get ready for the banquet at Hanna's house and their dates could pick them all up there so it would make planning easy for everyone. Since Ezra couldn't attend, Aria was the only one that was going without a date. Emily insisted that she could cancel on Samara, but Hanna and Spencer were adamant that it was too late to change the plan. Truth was that Emily didn't want to lead Samara on because she felt that Samara wanted this night to be more of a date type of night and that was the opposite of Emily's intentions when she agreed to go to the banquet with the girl.

_Ding-dong._

Hanna stood up from the vanity and quickly dashed out of the room. "Mom, can you get that please?" She ran back into the room and asked the girls with a wide smile on her face. "Ready, girls?"

All the girls were looking her best tonight in their fancy gowns. This was going to be a memorable night, Emily thought. Looking at the girls, Emily couldn't help her self, but analyze all her friends and their appearances.

Spencer had her hair up in a loose bun. She was wearing a dark tan gown that was low in the back, exposing a lot of skin. Aria had her hair braided to one side and she was wearing a dark red dress that almost looked black, but the red sparkles helped keep the dress looking red. Hanna had her hair straight down and parted in the middle. Her skin created high contrast against the royal blue color of her hi-low dress. Emily chose a champagne color gown that swept the floor with the dress tail. Her dress had a plunging neckline that wasn't too revealing. Her curled hair was swept to one side, as she wanted to keep her appearance simple for tonight, not over-dress for the banquet.

All the girls smiled at each other, hinting that they're ready to get the night started and have some fun. Emily loved going to fancy events like this because there aren't many chances for her to dress up this formally. Might as well get the night started early so she could wear the gown as long as possible.

Emily careful descended down the flight of stairs where she heard Hanna squealed with excitement. Hanna ran down the rest of the stairs and tackled Caleb with a tight embrace. Emily couldn't figure out how Hanna could have done that. Running down the stairs with heels on? _No, thank you_. Spencer silently walked over to Toby, where she laced her hand with his and placed her other hand on his arm. They both smiled sweetly at each other.

Emily spotted Samara standing there awkwardly, waiting for her. She walked over to the girl and greeted her.

"Hey." Emily smiled politely.

"Hey beautiful." Samara smiled back.

"You look great." Emily said, trying to keep the conversation as friendly as possible, but not flirtatious or giving Samara the wrong idea.

"You look stunning." Samara said, lending in to grab Emily's hand.

Before Emily could pull her hand away, Hanna noticed Samara holding her hand and she squealed loudly. Emily had no choice but to go along with it, because she didn't want to hurt Samara's feelings in front of her friends. That would be embarrassing for the girl and Emily didn't have the heart to do that to Samara. However, she will need to draw the line and tell Samara that they should just remain friends after the banquet.

Emily looked around as they all stood in a circle. The boys looked handsome and dashing, while the girls look stunning and elegant. They all looked like they were out of a James Bond movie, which made Emily smiled more wide.

"Let's go." Toby said, squeezing Spencer's hand. Tonight was going to be a great night.

* * *

The banquet was held in downtown Rosewood, in the oldest building in town. Usually Rosewood would hold this banquet every four years, but this is Emily's first time going. She didn't really know what to expect. All of the parents were going to meet up with each other later so Emily and her friends proceeded to the event first to check out the scene.

The building had large elegant banners hanging from the ceiling and over all the windows inside. There were staff members at every corner assisting and directing people as they walked by. As usual, Spencer and Toby were the first ones to walk in. Caleb and Hanna followed, then Emily and Samara. Mona and Lucas meet up with them outside and they followed in last with Aria.

Emily's group of friends followed the crowd into the hallway where quartets were playing. The hallways were lined with heavy ivory drapes and tons of candles. A red carpet cushioned their steps as they continued down the hallway. This was pretty elaborate and nothing she has ever seen before, Emily thought.

"The McCullers must have spent a lot of money on this event." Lucas said as he observed his surrounding with awe-stuck.

"They have tons of money so why not throw the best party around?" Toby said, looking back at the group.

Mona smiled, impressed with the turnout of the party, and said. "The McCullers knows how to throw the best party, that's for sure."

Towards the end of the long hallway, each group was escorted to a table depending on the number of the guest's party. Emily and her friends took up an entire table as they each took their seat. Emily looked around, trying to see if any of the parents were here yet, but there were too many people around. Women were in elegant evening gowns while men donned tuxedoes. This was beyond a small town affair, Emily thought. She looked around and found a familiar set of eyes staring at her from afar.

Paige was seating at one of the table closest to the front, surrounded by her friends. Emily couldn't see what Paige was wearing, but it looked like Paige was not wearing the appropriate female attire. Paige was wearing a suit instead of a gown. Her hair was up in a bun and she had no tie on. Emily smiled softly because the suit looked really good on Paige. She couldn't stop her self, but let her eyes roam all over Paige. Her heart skipped happily and her body began to heat up. She couldn't take her eyes off of the girl. Paige was definitely the definition of unique. In a dress or a suit, the girl could rock it both. Then Paige raised her glass of champagne at Emily and smirked. _Shit._ Emily got caught staring and she tore her eyes away, pretending to not see Paige's gesture.

"Hey. Thanks for coming with me to this banquet." Samara interrupted her thought. Samara placed her hand on top of Emily's on the table. Once again, Emily didn't have enough time to react so she just kept her hand still. Emily forced a smile back at Samara, which cause Samara to give her hand a little squeeze. This was not how it was supposed to go, Emily thought. _Hurry up and friend-zone the girl! _

"No problem. What are friends for?" Emily said, hoping that Samara understood her hint. Samara just smiled in return and withdrawn her hand quickly. It seemed like maybe Samara got the hint, but Emily was not 100% sure.

Emily turned her attention back to her friends. Spencer and Toby were in their own world, whispering closely, and not paying any attention to the rest of the table. Hanna, Caleb, Mona, and Lucas were chatting and laughing with each other. Out of the entire table, Aria was the only one that looked like she wasn't enjoying herself as much as everyone else. Emily understood why and she didn't know what to do to cheer the girl up.

"Hey." Emily nudged Aria on the shoulder. "Are you having fun?"

Aria gave Emily a sad smile. "Yeah. I am, but I just wish…" Aria didn't have to finish that sentence for Emily to understand what she was trying to say. Emily looked around and noticed that people were mingling before the dinnertime so she thought that it was a good idea to go explore the building with Aria for a while, hoping that it would ease the girl from her troubles.

"Let's go around and explore. Give your mind off of you-know-who." Emily said in a whisper. Aria nodded in agreement. They both excused themselves from the table and told everyone that they will return soon. Aria and Emily both stood up and walked out of the dining area. Linking arms with Emily, Aria lend her head against Emily's shoulder.

"Thanks Em." Aria said as they continued to walk down one of the hallways.

Where they were going, Emily had no idea, but it was nice to get away from everyone. It was starting to feel overwhelming for Emily with that many people in one place.

"Where are we?" Emily asked, chuckling to herself with amusement.

They just started walking around aimlessly, now Emily has no idea where they were in this large building. They have gone down a couple of hallways and then back up a couple of flights of stairs. Aria looked around in alert, trying to help Emily figure out where they were.

"Maybe, we should go this way." Aria pointed and led the way to the right. Emily followed, not confident that they were heading down the correct path, but followed Aria anyways.

Emily frowned when she heard a change of musical tempo in the air, indicating that dinner was going to start soon. "I think they're ready to serve dinner. We have to go back."

"Okay. Um…" Aria said, not sure what to do, looking around for exit signs, but couldn't find any.

Some of the hallways were lit, but others were not. Emily should have known to not head down those hallways, but that was too late now. Aria and Emily both jumped when they heard a whistle followed by a quiet chuckle coming from one of the hallways.

"I come in peace." Paige appeared from the shadows, raising both of her hands with an amused expression.

Back in the dining area, Paige watched Emily and Aria walking out and Paige thought that this would be a good opportunity to go find Emily first this time. They still need to finish their conversation without any interruptions. With Aria's advise, Paige was determined to have this conversation with Emily.

Emily felt Aria exhaled with relief. Paige slowly walked towards them, tucking both hands into her pant's pockets. Now Emily could fully check the girl out. Her breath hitched at the sight of Paige. Her black suit was fitted with some satin tuxedo strips along the sides of her skinny black trouser and the collar of her blazer. A starch white button-up collar shirt with a couple of the top buttons open was what she wore underneath her blazer. _Simply yet it was tastefully sexy._

The way Emily looked in her dress wasn't even fair. Paige saw Emily from afar and she couldn't help but continue to walk towards the girl until she could completely take in the way Emily looked tonight. Paige's eyes raked down the length of the dress and she tried to not stare too much, but that damn neckline. _Don't be rude, Paige. _She had to force her self to put both hands in her pant's pockets because she had to do something to distract her self and keep her mind from wandering too far because that neckline left little to the imagination.

Emily's eyes slowly gaze down the collar of Paige's shirt, following each button down until her eyes rested at the first closed button that stop right above the cleavage area. Emily cleared her throat to cause a distraction from the feelings that were stirring up inside of her. Paige was absolute hot in her suit and Emily felt like she was drooling over the girl. _Calm down, Emily_. It's just a suit, she mentally told her self.

Aria smiled when she glanced over at Emily, giving her a knowing look. It was obvious to Aria that Emily was awe-struck by Paige and her suit.

"Did the dinner start already?" Aria decided to break the silence, looking back at Paige. She was beginning to feel like the third wheel in the narrow space that they were standing in. Tension was thick in the air.

Paige looked behind to make sure that no one followed her up the stairs.

"Yeah. Are you guys trying to find your way back?" Paige chuckled as she found it funny that these two girls managed to get this far away from the dining area. The building was basically in a circular shape. If Aria and Emily kept on walking through a couple more hallways, then they would have found their way back to where they started.

Emily and Aria just nodded.

"Um…I have this for you." Paige reached inside of her jacket and pulled out a set of keys. Emily drew her eyebrows together in confusion. What is that for, she thought. Emily looked at Aria, but Aria just returned the same facial expression. Paige extended her hand in front of Aria, dangling the set of keys, but Aria didn't take it. Paige just smiled and slightly jingling the keys, insisting that Aria take them.

"What are these for?" Aria asked quietly, not sure why Paige was giving them to her.

Paige smiled, motioning her to come closer. Paige whispered something into Aria's ear. Emily couldn't really make out what Paige was telling Aria, but from Aria's facial expression, Aria looked shocked and surprised all at the same time and Emily couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing.

Aria stepped back and looked at Paige for a couple of seconds before she embraced the girl and said thank you quietly. What was that about, Emily thought. Paige just pointed down the hall and Aria ran towards that direction.

Paige turned around and smirked at Emily.

"Emily."

"Um…where is she going?" Emily asked, not sure what just happened. Aria just left her alone with Paige in a dark hallway somewhere Emily didn't know. It wasn't the dark hallway or somewhere unfamiliar that bothered her, it was the fact that Paige was standing here with her, looking very attractive in front of her. Emily gulped nervously.

"She's going to meet someone." Paige said, smiling. She lend towards Emily, but not wanting to invade Emily's space so she kept a good distance between them. She still was standing close enough to sincerely whisper, "You look beautiful by the way."

Emily looked up, feeling her heart swell at those words, and a slow smile growing on her face. Paige saw how her words affected Emily and that made her grin even more before winking at Emily. Emily's heart rapid bounced against her chest and her smile grew as Paige's smile grew. Emily was sure she looked like a goof with her smile, but she didn't care. Right now, Emily just wanted to stare at the girl.

"Thank you." She said, feeling out of breathe all the suddenly. Emily managed to say, "You too." Mentally cursing at her self for sounding like an idiot. _You too?!_

Paige chuckled at Emily, who was obvious struggling to find her words. Paige dipped her head shyly. So maybe Aria was right. Maybe Emily does like her. Therefore, she was acting all weird whenever Paige was around her. The realization that maybe Emily liked her made Paige have a difficult time to breath as her heart throbbed with excitement.

"I wanted to stand out, you know? Be different." Paige beamed and did her best runaway face.

Emily laughed at Paige's silliness.

"You definitely stood out." Emily admitted out loud, staring at Paige.

Paige was the _only_ person Emily saw at the banquet tonight. No one else caught her eyes like the way Paige did, now she couldn't keep her eyes off of the girl.

Paige smirked. She was glad to hear that she definitely caught Emily's eyes tonight. That was what she was hoping for. Since the luncheon and the little conversation between Aria and her, Paige decided to pull all the stops to get Emily's attention tonight.

"Come on." Paige said, motioning Emily to follow, but Emily hesitated. Why should she follow Paige? Where was Paige going to take her? Paige turned around and saw a confused Emily who didn't want follow her. Paige smirked again and walked back to the girl. She looked at Emily directly in the eyes and slipped her hand into Emily's hand.

Emily's eyes grew in shock and she gulped. What was Paige doing? She thought. Her heart was hurting at this point and Emily thought that her heart might fail any second from going into overdrive. It was thumping so loud that her ears began to buzz and her vision became blurry, but the only thing she could see was Paige smiling at her.

Paige looked down at their joined hands. The softness and the warmth of Emily's hand mesmerized her and she was in awe by how perfectly their hand fitted together. Paige slowly drew lazy circles on the back of Emily's hand by using her thumb and without a word, Paige just tug onto Emily's hand, telling Emily that it was okay to follow her.

"Where are we going?" Emily asked, still trying to stay calm, but it was not happening. A warm sensation imprinted on her hand as tingles ran up and down Emily's arm. She gulped again as the sensation began to intensify.

"Anywhere you want to." Paige said laughing lightly. She stopped and looked at Emily. "Are you hungry?"

Emily nodded and her other hand traveled to her mid section. She hasn't eaten anything for the past four hours, because all of the girls wanted to look her best in her dress. Therefore, now she was starving without realizing it until Paige brought it up.

Paige took a second to think where they could go to grab some food and then an idea popped in her head. She gently squeezed Emily's hand.

"Okay. Let's go." Paige's warm smile gave Emily the reassurance that she knew what she was doing.

They both went down a couple of flights of stairs before Paige lead them through a couple more doors that Emily didn't realized. Emily looked back and she could see that they were somewhere towards the back of the building because she could see the entire dining area from where she was standing. The loud commotion caught Emily's attention as her eyes drawn back to Paige. The delicious scent of food wafted through the air and sounds of sizzling overwhelm the room. Now she could see where they were and Emily had no words as she watched Paige waving to someone in the kitchen.

"Henri! Henri!" Paige shouted, getting the attention of an elder man in full chef attire from across the massive industrial kitchen.

The man saw Paige and smiled. He placed down his utensil, walked over with both arms extend, and greeted Paige.

"Paijey. Mon cheri. Comme ca va?" Paige hugged him, but she still held onto Emily's hand, not letting go. Emily looked around. Everyone was hustling in and out of the kitchen, carrying large trays of food as they walked by. The scent alone was making her stomach growl louder.

"Oui ca va." Paige answered back. Paige can speak French? Emily was impressed. Who doesn't like someone who can speak French? It was very attractive coming from Paige's mouth as Emily continued to listen to their French conversation. Even though Emily couldn't really understand what they were talking about, she was focus on Paige's mouth as she spoke. She couldn't look away. The shapes that Paige's lip formed as she spoke with a fluent accent was a huge turn on as Emily stood there staring.

Paige then gestured towards Emily, snapped her out of her gawking, introducing her to Henri.

"Henri. Emily. Emily. Henri."

"Ah, she's tres belle, Paijey." Henri winked at Paige, causing Emily to smile and blush at the same time.

"Henri, we're hungry. Can you make us something special?" Paige asked, gently stroking her thumb over Emily's hand again. It's like Paige knew the exactly correct moment to do that and Emily was beginning to like the way their hands felt together. It was very comforting.

Henri looked at Paige and smiled tenderly. "For you and your special lady friend? Bien sur! I'll be right back, okay?"

Paige looked around and noticed that they could use one of the kitchen counters as their table so she tugged Emily's hand once more before letting go.

"Here. Sit on this counter." Paige patted on the counter, but Emily didn't think it was a good idea so she shook her head. "Come on. It's okay. I'll help you."

Paige stood in front of Emily with both hands on her waist. Emily gulped nervously, but Paige was oblivious to how nervous she was making Emily feel. Emily obligated and hitched herself up onto the counter. Paige helped stable her so she wouldn't fall and hurt her self. Paige kept both of her hands on Emily's waist, nervous that she might be making Emily uncomfortable. Okay, Paige, stop creeping Emily out, she mentally said. Paige pulled back both hands and smiled apologetic at Emily.

"Wait here. I'll be right back." Paige said quickly and disappeared between the kitchen staffs. Emily could finally breathe now with Paige out of sight. Inhale and exhale, she reminded her self. She looked at her hand that Paige held earlier and now, it felt cold like something was missing. She missed that sensation Paige gave her just by holding her hand. It was a simple touch, but it stirred so much within Emily.

Paige came back with a champagne bottle in one hand and a plate of something in her other hand. " I hope you like pizza."

"I _love _pizza! Any type of pizza." Emily exclaimed excitedly.

Paige smiled, looking at the pizza and back at Emily. A girl who likes pizza is her ideal type of girl, Paige thought, amused at the idea. Emily is _totally_ her type she realized.

"So I take it that pizza and champagne are okay?" Paige asked, jokingly, holding up the two items.

Emily looked at the pizza and up at Paige, beaming. "It's perfect. Thank you."

For some reason Emily was beginning to feel like this could be a date, but why was she getting so far ahead of her self? Emily couldn't believe that Paige has her melting with happiness in a matter of less than a day. This is crazy. No one has ever done that for her, Emily thought.

Paige placed the pizza in between them. She peeled the seal off of the champagne bottle and popped it open. The content from the inside of the bottle spilled a little over the top causing Emily to gasp. Paige brought it to her mouth and took a swig. She then hand it to Emily and Emily did the same thing. _Emily looks absolutely gorgeous_. Paige mentally memorized how Emily was looking right now. She was feeling so anxious having Emily near her again. It was a weird feeling, but a good weird.

Paige was the first one to dig into the pizza. She was so busy from doing press and taking pictures that she didn't have time to eat today either. She was so over this banquet, but she had to be here. Paige was glad she came though because if she had ditched this event, then she wouldn't be standing in this kitchen sharing a pizza with the most beautiful girl she has ever laid her eyes on.

Emily eyed Paige in between bites. "So…I have a couple of questions for you."

This was Emily's chance to ask Paige whatever and find out how Paige felt about her. She wanted to use this chance careful before someone or something interrupts their conversation, but she didn't know where to start.

Paige looked up at Emily and finished her food in her mouth. "Ask away."

Emily smiled at her response. Paige was never shy from Emily's questions nor did she ever feel uncomfortable when Emily wanted answers from her. Another thing to add to the list of qualities Emily liked about Paige McCullers.

"What was that thing with Aria about?" Emily picked up her slice and bit into it.

"I set up a private dinner for her and Mr. Fitz on the second level." Paige answered nonchalantly, taking another bite of her food.

"Mr. Fitz is here?" Emily stopped chewing, in shock at Paige's answer.

Paige casually nodded before taking another swig of the champagne. Paige had no idea how much that meant to Emily because of Aria. Mr. Fitz and Aria always have a difficult time trying to enjoy simple things that a regular couple gets to enjoy and public events were tricky for them to both attend. This was really sweet of Paige to have done that for them, but why, Emily wondered.

"How? Why?" Emily asked, looking at Paige curiously.

"I invited him. He knows that I know about the secret. And…this was kind of a thank you gift for Aria." Paige said vaguely, looking down at her slice of pizza.

She didn't want Emily to find out that Aria had told her how Emily felt about her. It would probably embarrass Emily, and Paige didn't want Emily to feel that way.

"Thank you gift? For what?" Emily was definitely curious about what Aria have done for Paige so she pressed on.

"Something that she told me earlier." Paige looked away, avoiding eye contact with the girl. She hoped that Emily wouldn't push any further on the matter. "She did me a favor and now I'm doing her a favor. Isn't that how it works?" Paige chuckled, trying to distract Emily from asking more questions.

Paige picked up her slice of pizza and pointed to the last piece. "Last one is yours."

Emily smiled back. "It better be mine."

"Don't worry. It's all yours." Paige teased back, smiling to her self.

Jeez, Paige thought, this girl could really eat. Paige found it to be cute that Emily was not self-conscious about food like a lot of other girls Paige meet before. Plus, Emily was not a picky eater either, which is also another good quality to possess in Paige's book.

"So how's that redhead girl from the party?" Emily asked out of left field. Paige choked on her food, coughing violently. Emily giggled as she patted Paige's back to help her calm down.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked sincerely, searching Paige's face. Paige just nodded before taking a sip of champagne.

"Ha. Ha." Paige took a couple more swigs to wash down the pizza that seems to be still stuck in her throat.

"Question. Why though?" Emily was curious about Paige's answer regarding the redhead. It has been on her mind since that day when the redhead told her what happened.

"Why what?" Paige confused, not know what Emily wanted to know.

"Why didn't it happen?" Emily said, casually taking a bit of her pizza again.

Paige nervously took a long swig of the champagne and Emily could sense that Paige was trying to come up with the clever response.

"She wasn't my type." Paige said flatly, thinking that that was a pretty safe answer to give.

"Oh? So tell me what is your type?" Emily always wondered what kind of girl Paige like, considering Paige could get any girl she wanted and now Emily will get the answer she always wondered.

This is it, Paige thought. Be bold and ballsy. Do it. Just be honest. "My type? Um…sweet and smart."

"Come on, be specific." Emily pushed on.

Emily really wanted to know what was Paige's type. Paige looked back at Emily, studying her features closely, wondering what she should say. She gave in. What's the harm? Maybe Emily would figure out that she was exactly Paige's type.

"Fine." Paige stood straight and smirked at Emily. "Athletic and tall. She got to have this killer smile with dimples. Big twinkling eyes. Slender figure with a tan complexion and long dark hair." Paige's eyes traveled down to Emily's lips as she took another swig of the champagne. Her eyes traveled back up Emily's face and she looked directly into Emily's eyes. "Kissable lips. Sound like anyone you know?" Paige challenged.

Emily stopped chewing completely. Was it her imagination or does that description sound a bit familiar? There was no way. Don't be self-absorbed, Emily. However, back to Paige's question, Emily shook her head, not knowing how to give Paige an answer.

"Shame." Paige said, still holding her smirk at Emily. Emily looked away, trying to look busy by paying attention on her last slice of pizza.

"Okay. My turn." Paige said after taking another sip of the champagne, eyeing Emily closely.

"Shoot." Emily said, intrigued with what Paige was going to ask her.

"So you came with Samara?" Paige said coolly, not wanting to cause any discomfort for Emily, but Paige wanted to know something though.

Emily stalked her time, thinking thoroughly how to answer Paige without giving the girl the wrong idea about her and Samara. There was absolutely nothing going on between them. Hopefully, Paige won't think other wise.

"Yeah." Emily admitted and quickly added. "But it's not like that. We're just friends."

Paige nodded, giving Emily a shy smile before looking at her slice of pizza. "Oh? She's not your type? She seems very smitten with you."

Paige wanted to push the topic, wanting to hear the truth from Emily.

When Paige first saw Emily entered the building with Samara, Paige felt a ping of jealousy. Who wouldn't? Seeing someone she liked with someone else irked her the wrong way, but she shook off the feeling. Paige didn't want to react on jealousy because she knew that she would look dumb in the end. Paige rather ask Emily about it first, even it the truth was something she didn't want to hear. However it didn't matter. Emily and Samara made a beautiful couple together, but she was still going to take her chances tonight and get Emily's attention. That was what mattered. Emily was with her, right now and Paige was content with it.

"She's nice, but I only see her as a friend. Nothing more." Emily said as a matter-of-fact, hoping that Paige fully understood.

"Why? Do you like someone else already?" Paige asked, knowing that that question might push the wrong button, but she didn't care. Paige arched her eyebrow, challenging Emily to answer her honestly. She knew that Emily liked her, but she really wanted to make sure that that was the truth.

Emily stopped chewing immediately and looked back at Paige. Emily had a feeling that maybe Paige knew that she like the girl more than friends, but she wasn't going to admit it.

"Yes." Emily thought that answer was a good enough to give and she was right when she saw Paige smiled wider at her answer, seems like Paige was satisfy with that simple yes.

They both went back to enjoying their food before Henri busted back into the kitchen.

"Paijey. They're looking for you!" He huffed in distress.

Paige threw down her pizza slice down and gently grabbed Emily's hand.

"Come on. We got to go."

With a mischievous smile on her face, Paige helped Emily down from the counter and laced their hands together. Paige looked at their joined hands again. It still amazed her that holding Emily's hand felt very natural to her. It was something she couldn't describe, but she liked the sensation she was receiving from Emily. She pulled Emily with her as she quickly weaved them through the narrow kitchen and through some doors.

Emily grabbed the fabric of her dress and pulled it up slightly so she wouldn't step on it and trip. She felt safe with the Paige's touch around her hand. She knew that Paige wouldn't let anything happen to her; just like that time they ran away from the police. As they quickly navigated out of the kitchen, Emily felt excitement mixed with anxiety. It was the same thrill she experienced when she went on that bike ride with Paige. She bit down on her bottom lip to keep her from quietly laughing as she turned back around and saw a young gentleman trying to keep up with them, but they soon lost him somewhere along the chase.

Paige and Emily made their way up a flight of stairs that Emily didn't recognized and into the first room down the hallway. Once inside, Paige reluctantly let go of Emily's hand and looked around. She wasn't sure where they were, but it looked like they have found their way into one of the rooms with access to the patio garden area that had a small pool. Paige turned back to check on Emily, but found the girl staring at her.

"What?" Paige asked, breathing slightly heavy.

"Did you know that this was the second time I had to run away with you?" Emily said, feeling the thrill of spontaneity.

Emily was trying her best to neutralize her feeling, not wanting Paige to know that she liked being so wild with Paige. The first time they ran away from the police, it was scary for Emily because she has never done anything like that before. However, this time, it was not scary at all. It was opposite. It was exciting. Now she finally understood why Paige enjoyed being so rebellious from time to time.

"And?" Paige challenged, once again flashing her smirk.

Emily shook her head, biting on her bottom lip again to keep her from forming a smile on her face. To other people, Paige might be a bad influence. She likes to go against authority and likes to challenge people, but Emily knew that there was more to Paige. This time, Emily was not going to give in to Paige's intimidation. She was going to challenge back. She _wants_ to challenge back.

Emily started to wander around, and Paige followed closely behind.

Paige quietly joked behind her. "This banquet was a joke. It was all a show. William knew that I didn't want to be here. Plus, it's not my fault that he can't keep up with us."

"Is that why we're running away and not heading back to the dinner right now?" Emily asked, turning around and walking backward so she could look at Paige.

Emily was moving really slow because she didn't want to accidentally back into the small pool that occupied the outdoor space.

"Do you want to head back?" Paige looked up slightly and arching her eyebrow.

No, she doesn't want to go back, Emily thought, unless Paige wanted to go back then she would follow the girl back. It was nice to be lost in their little world for a bit. Even if it was for ten minutes, Emily didn't care. She wanted to spend, as much time with Paige if she could, but she knew that was not possible. William is bound to find them soon.

"No, but I don't want to get into trouble either." Emily confessed with a shy smile.

Paige shook her head. Why would they get into trouble? They haven't got caught yet.

"Just admit that you like the idea of getting into trouble with me." Paige said, giving Emily a cocky smile.

Paige reached out and grabbed Emily's hand, stopping her in her spot. _Just admit it already_. She knew that Emily somewhat enjoys it, but Paige wanted to hear Emily say it out loud. Emily looked up in surprise. Not sure what to do next or how to reply to Paige. Her hand was becoming an instant distraction as Paige was holding on to it. She was trying really hard to re-focus, but it seemed impossible. Emily didn't want Paige to think that she could be pushed around this easily, because Paige was being too arrogant for her own good right now. Emily was not going to let Paige win.

"You like to get me into trouble, don't you?" Emily retorted teasingly.

Paige made an amused face. Emily was not afraid to stand up to her and she liked that. "No one forced you to be here." Paige turned, giving Emily space to leave if she wanted.

"Well, I didn't volunteer either." Emily said, arching her eyebrow and took a small step forward to close the space between them.

"Touché." Paige paused. Paige has never let anyone challenge her as much as Emily at this moment. She refused to back down and let Emily gain control of the situation.

"Tell me then. Why are you here with me?"

Paige took another small step closer. Her gaze stopped at Emily's lips and she had to bit her bottom lip to stop her from lurching forward and capturing Emily's, because that was all she wanted to do and shut the girl up.

Emily refused to back down to Paige. Emily suddenly took a small step forward, causing Paige to automatically take a small step back. Paige's face fell as she starting to realize that her plan might have backfired on her.

Emily didn't miss that change of facial expression. The ball is in her court now and she going to have some fun with it. Her lips curled up at one corner and whispered to Paige. "Isn't it obvious?"

Paige was officially in trouble, she thought. Emily has this facial expression that Paige couldn't decipher. She knew that she would give Emily anything if the girl asked for it right now. If Emily wanted her to sit, she would sit very still. If Emily wanted Paige to stand, then she would stand all day for the girl.

Paige shook her head. By the look on Paige's face, Emily knew she has gained full control now so she pushed on.

"So you don't know?"

Emily lend in closer, causing Paige to once again take a small step back. Paige's eyes grew as she began to panic, lost in the emotion that was stirring from within of her. What was Emily doing? Whatever Emily was doing, it was frightening Paige because their proximity was too close. Paige couldn't focus with Emily being this close. So close that she could smell a familiar vanilla scent in the air. Her head spun.

Emily looked at Paige's face then to their hands. A devious smile came on Emily's face as she brought both of her hands up and placed them on Paige's shoulder. Paige froze in her spot. _Um…_Her heart was hammering wildly and she felt her blood draining. With a little force, Emily pushed the girl back and Paige realized what was happening.

Paige's knees buckled and her foot touched the edge of the pool, causing her to swing her arms forward in a windmill effect to create some support. Once it clicked in her head what Emily was planning, she figured that the girl deserved to get dragged in too. In a split second, Paige quickly reached out and grabbed onto Emily by the arm and tried to yank her in the same direction that Paige was free-falling in. Emily let out a shriek as Paige grinned at the girl.

Emily planted her feet into the ground and forced her self to fall into the opposite way, because she didn't want to be pulled into the pool with Paige. Her little harmless prank backfired on her as Paige counter-reacted. She yanked her arm, hoping that Paige would also fall in her direction. Emily fell onto the ground hard and Paige slammed on top of her. Emily let out a groan as she felt the pain shoot up her bottom, as she laid on the cold concrete with Paige's weight on top.

With her eyes still closed, Emily tried to muffled her pain, but the weight of Paige was a much more overwhelming sensation, snapping her out of her world of pain from the fall. Emily lay completely still when she realized that Paige was fully on top of her and Paige's face was mere inches away from hers. The weight was very comfortable and it stirred up a new sensation within Emily as she could feel every inch of Paige's body pressing against hers. Emily couldn't breath as she felt her heart skipping every other beat.

Paige couldn't believe it. The chance of Emily saving her from falling into the pool was almost impossible, but it still happened. Paige started laughing, as she kind of lift her self off of Emily. Holding up half of her body weight, she looked down at Emily. Her little laughter turned into a booming one and Emily lay there dumbfounded. Emily couldn't help but laugh along with Paige. Tears were running down Paige's face at this point.

"Ohhh, that was close." Paige said, as her laughter slowly subsided. "Your way of flirting is pretty comical." She brought one hand up to wipe the tears that formed in the corner of her eyes.

Emily killed her laughter instantly and remarked. "I wasn't flirting."

"Yeah, you were." Paige said, looking down at the girl. "It's cute."

"I was not!" Emily said offended. "Can you get off of me?"

"Do you want me to?" Paige retorted, arching her eye. With that remark, Paige knew that she has regain control of the situation back.

Emily opened her mouth, but her voice was lost somewhere. Therefore, she couldn't reply to Paige right away. As awkward as their positions are right now, Emily didn't want Paige to go anywhere.

"Just admit that you like me." Paige challenged. "I know you do." She exaggeratedly shrugged.

Paige flashed her grin at Emily and she was dazed, staring at Paige's lips. How did Paige know? Was she that obvious? Emily tried to say something, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out. Therefore, she just continued to stare at Paige in shock.

"It's okay." Paige said with a confident smile on her face and winked at Emily. "You'll admit it to me."

Paige pushed herself off of Emily and brushed her hands on her trouser. Emily instantly missed the feeling of Paige against her body. Paige extended her hand out and offended it to the girl. Emily, who hasn't spoken a word yet, slipped her hand into Paige's hand. Paige used her strength to pulled Emily up off the ground, but at the same time, she had to stable Emily as the girl was trying to find her balance again. Once up, Emily looked at Paige and noticed that once again, they were standing very close to each other. She nervously licked her lips as she watched Paige closely.

Paige smiled shyly and asked. "Are you okay?" Searching Emily's face.

Emily blushed and nodded, looking down and saw that Paige was still holding her hand and Paige's other hand was placed gently on her hip. Emily felt absolutely fine, especially whenever Paige held her hand. When she looked back up, her breath hitched because with the nighttime glow of the pool, Paige looked stunning. All of Paige's features were highlighted by the blue-ish glow of the half-lit pool. Emily really wanted to lend forward and capture the other girl's lips, but she didn't want to be too forward. She knew how she felt, but how did Paige feel about her?

Paige was probably sensing the same thought as she gripped a little tighter on Emily's hand. Emily sensed nervousness as the tension in the room increased. Paige smiled softly before looking in Emily's eyes again. Her face slowly inched closer, making sure to give Emily a chance to reject her, but Emily stood still. _Okay, this is it._ Paige inched her lips as close to Emily's as possible, but left enough room where their lips were not touching just quite yet. Her eyes traveled up Emily's face and settled on the girl's eyes.

"Just admit it." Paige whispered against Emily's lips. Paige's other hand snaked up from behind and gently pulled Emily's body closer.

"Yes." Emily had to remind herself to keep calm and breathe regularly. The buzzing in her head was consuming her thoughts and her only focus was on Paige's lips. She only had enough concentration to give her answer breathlessly.

"Yes?" Paige's face softened and a wide grin displayed across her face.

"Yes. You're very _likable._" Emily licked her lips nervously and her eyes traveled down to Paige's lips. She had enough of their push-and-pull games and she didn't want to talk anymore. If she had to be the first to admit her feelings, then so be it.

Paige brought her hand up to cup Emily's face. The touch brought on an undeniable electric shock. She smirked at Emily before completely closing the gap between them.

* * *

**Let me know what you think. Please review it. PM me. **

**Cheers**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Okay, thank you for all the reviews. I enjoy reading very single one and hearing your thoughts on the chapter 11. Thank you so much.**

**So what did you guys think about the summer finale? Obviously, not enough Paily LOL, but Ezra as A? That was not really a surprise to me. However, it should be interesting to see where the writers are going to take that storyline. **

**Back to this story, I'm going to step on the gas pedal a little bit with these two. Hopefully that is all right with you guys. Of course there will be more Paily cuteness in future chapters so please stay tuned.**

**Next chapter, here we go!**

**Enjoy**

* * *

Emily looked into her locker and let out a heavy sigh. It was Monday morning and all the students were feeling the dreadfulness of a Monday. So far, Emily has been on autopilot. Not because it was a Monday, but her mind was occupied with the major events that occurred over the weekend.

"Good morning."

Emily heard behind her locker door. She instantly perked up and knew who was standing next to her. She darted her eyes to her right and quickly composed herself before closing her locker gently. A pair of brown eyes and a smirk greeted Emily and her heartbeat rapidly skipped. Emily's sight drifted to Paige's smile, lingering her lips. She had to bit down on her bottom lip to stop her self from forming a dorky grin in front of the girl. She didn't want to seem too eager to see Paige again. Keep cool, Emily reminded her self, hoping that it was working.

"Hello." Emily said breathlessly.

Paige smiled and lend her shoulder against the lockers, body turned towards Emily, glad to run into the girl this morning for a quick chat. There were a couple of things Paige wanted to clarify with Emily, but she didn't know where to start.

"How was your Sunday?" Paige asked casually, keeping the conversation informal.

"Good." Emily said, forgetting how to speak, realizing that Paige was gawking at her. Emily was not sure where she and Paige stood right now in terms of their relationship because they haven't really got a chance to talk about it since the banquet. Paige text her on Sunday, wondering if they could meet up, but Emily and the girls already had plans for that day. Therefore, Emily hasn't seen Paige since that Saturday night.

"So…" They both said after a few minutes of awkward silence. Emily looked around and noticed that other students were starting to turn their attention towards them, making Emily feel a little uncomfortable.

Paige noticed too so she spoke first. "I have never done this before so I don't really know how it suppose to work, but…I don't want us to be in this awkward stage."

Paige wanted to articulate with caution, not giving Emily the wrong impression, but at the same time, Paige wanted to be honest with her. Emily continued to stare at Paige so she continued on.

"We kissed on Saturday. It was my third time kissing you and every time, it has been great. But I don't know where we stand now or how to go forward… Does that make sense?" Paige asked, wondering if Emily was getting her drift.

Paige was unaware that Emily fully understood what she was trying to say because Emily had the same concern. Where do they go from Saturday night? Emily stood there with anxiety, staring at Paige.

Paige looked around nervously and gulped. She turned back to Emily and asked. "Have you told anyone yet? About us?"

Shit! Emily's friends. How could Emily forget? That was another stressful thing Emily has to think about. Should she tell them about her and Paige? How will she tell them? When will she tell them? Emily looked down on the floor and furrowed her eyebrows with concerned. She just shook her head in silence.

"Have you?" Emily asked in a panic. If Paige told her friends, then Emily has to tell Spencer, Hanna, and Aria soon before they find out about Paige and her from someone else. That would not be good because Emily will not hear the end of it if that happens.

"No." Paige answered back quickly and smirked. "I don't kiss-and-tell."

"When you say 'about us,' what does that mean?" Emily asked, after a couple of minutes of debating whether or not she should bring up the _real_ question.

Paige shrugged. Honestly, Paige doesn't know what that meant. _Us? _She has never felt anything for someone like this before. Usually, Paige would have fun and that was it. This time she was a little in too deep and it was definitely new territory for her.

"Maybe we should…continue where we left off and see where it goes?" Paige paused, eyesight traveling down Emily's face and lingered over Emily's lips.

Suddenly, Paige felt unsure about her proposal. This was insane. What was she doing? Paige McCullers doesn't do things like this; never make a decision based on impulse. However, she listened to her desire when she kissed Emily that banquet night. Now she was going to give in and try something she has never done, continue this 'mutual attraction' they have for each other? Whatever Emily wanted to call it or label it as, Paige was fine with it as long as she gets to see the girl as often as possible.

"I don't know." Emily said, gripped her shoulder bag strap, searching Paige's face for a reaction. "I'm not even sure you like me as much as I like you actually." Emily said quietly, feeling very vulnerable for revealing her fear about Paige with the girl.

However, that was her true feeling on the matter. When Emily told Paige that she likes her, Paige never relied, but kissed her instead. Does that means that the feelings were mutual? Or does it mean that Paige just wanted to kiss her and that's it? Truth was that Emily wanted to be cautious this time around. She didn't want to be the one who wanted more from the other person. Emily wanted the other person to want her as much as she wants that person.

Paige was about to answer, but she saw Emily's friends entering the school and heading straight towards Emily. That was her cue to leave before the conversation got more complicated. Paige turned her attention back at Emily.

"The next time I kiss you, I will make damn sure that you know how I feel about you." Paige promised, looked up under her eyelashes.

Paige took a step away from Emily, but stopped shortly and whispered. "And you're likable too, by the way." With a wink, Paige quickly made her escape, but not quick enough to escape from Spencer Hastings' sight.

Emily stood there, more confused than ever with their conversation they just had. So where did they stand? Did Paige want to play it by ear? Was Emily okay with that? So many questions, but Emily knew that she liked Paige enough to take things slow and see where things will go. Maybe she should go with the flow like what Paige suggested. Whatever that was suppose to mean.

"What was Paige McCullers talking to you about?" Spencer said, as she stood in front of Emily with Hanna and Aria standing close by. Hanna and Aria both raised their eyebrows, amused, waiting for Emily to reply.

"She wanted to let me know…that she couldn't…head down to the station today." Emily lied, glad that her lie sounded reasonable, but not sure if it was believable enough for Spencer to buy.

Spencer folded her arms across her chest, looking at Emily intently. "Paige goes to the station? The Rosewood police station?"

"Yeah. She helps my mom." Emily said, cringing inward because she forgot that not many people knew that fact and she was suppose to keep it on the quiet side. Now her friends were going to question her even more on the matter.

Hanna's eyes twinkled as if she finally saw the light and excitedly asked. "Is that why you always go there every day after school? To see her? Oh my gosh, Emily Fields. Do you like Paige?!"

Aria looked at Emily, entertained, waiting to see what would Emily do. Here was her chance to come clean to the other two. Would she or wouldn't she do it, Aria thought, hoping that Emily has enough guts to confess already.

Emily sighed and shook her head. "I'm just the messenger here, Hanna. Calm down. I'm going to pass the message on to my mom. That's what she was talking to me about."

"And she couldn't tell your mom her self?" Hanna asked. "Just text her."

"Hanna, she wouldn't need to tell me to pass the message on if she did that, now would she?" Emily insisted to stick to her story, hoping that Spencer and Hanna would just drop it now.

"Huh. You never told us about Paige going to the station." Spencer's facial expression became more suspicious. "Considering you must have known for a long time since you also head there and help her mother."

"I'm sorry. People volunteer at the station all the time. You never ask me who else I knew help out at the station so I never said anything. Anyways, I have to run to class, okay? See you guys later." Emily said quickly, trying to sound urgent enough while using the going-to-class excuse. She didn't want to stand there and continue to make up more lies to her friends. However, she knew at some point she has to tell them. Maybe Emily will, once she figures out where this 'thing' with Paige was going.

* * *

It was the last class of the day and Emily was finally exhausted. She walked into Mr. Fitz's classroom and beeline straight to her seat as the rest of her friends followed closely behind. Spencer was telling them about what happened in trig class earlier when she found an error in the textbook. Leave it to Spencer Hastings to be that person who points out all the flaws in any textbook. The girl thrived on that kind of stuff. Emily barely paid any attention to that conversation as she settled into her seat. She dropped her bag next to her chair and grabbed her supplies out. The moment when she sat back up and opened her book, she heard a familiar chuckle across the room and her eyes immediately darted over to the laughter. Paige has just entered the classroom, following Noel and Patrick. Jenna and Shana were trailing behind the trio; seem to be lost in their own conversation. The group stopped short from their seating area and continued to carry on with their conversations.

Emily felt a burst of renewal energy as she sat up straight, not taking her eyes off of Paige. She wasn't feeling sluggish before, but she felt disinterested to things around her. Her eyes gazed Paige up and down, from head to toe, checking out the girl's outer appearance. Paige's hair was up in a messy bun with pieces of hair framing her face. She was wearing a deep white v-neck shirt with a black vest and distressed blue skinny jean. Of course, Paige was also wearing those combat boots that Emily loved so much. She felt a shy smile pulling across her lips when she felt an elbow nudged her from her left side. Emily didn't jump, but she was definitely caught off guard. Aria seemed to have swamped seats with Hanna as Hanna and Spencer were still carried on their conversation about something else at the other table.

Aria arched her eyebrow and smiled. "Enjoying the view?" She whispered.

Emily blushed in embarrassment and shook her head. She got caught red-handed, staring at Paige, once again. Since the banquet, Aria was the only one Emily could confide in, considering Aria has figured out the entire situation between Emily and Paige. Aria knew that there was a mutual attraction between the two of them. However, Emily hasn't filled the girl in on what happened the rest of the banquet night.

Mr. Fitz entered the room and everyone hustled towards their seats. Emily watched Paige closely as she walked to her seat, but before she sat down, Paige quickly glanced at Emily and gave her a quick crooked smile. Emily's breath hitched, causing her to sit a little straighter, looking somewhere else for a distraction.

Mr. Fitz began to write down notes on the chalkboard, but Emily was not in the mood to start taking notes quite yet. Thirteen minutes into the class and Emily was still finding her self bored and not in the mood to pay any attention to what Mr. Fitz was lecturing on. She quickly glanced at Paige, trying to see if the girl was also having trouble paying attention, but to her surprise, Paige was not. Paige was actually scribbling down notes while her other hand was at her lip, slightly biting on the tip of her thumb. Emily's eyes slowly traveled to Paige's lips, triggering a certain memory not too far long ago.

_The instant touch was electrifying as Paige slowly grazed her lips over Emily's. It was the slightest touch, but it was enough for Emily to feel winded. Her knees were getting ready to give out, but she quickly placed both of her hands on Paige's arms for support. Paige's hand traveled up to Emily's cheek and kissed her deeply. Their kiss, this time, was passionate, not demanding or lazy. Each girl exhibited equal amounts of desire as they both dueled it out. Emily pushed her body against Paige's, leaving no space between them and Emily liked the way it felt, being pressed against Paige. _

_Paige continued to kiss her hard and Emily was ready to pass out. Buzzing clouded all of her thoughts and Emily couldn't even hear her self think at the moment. Her head did not comprehend what was happening quite yet, but her body was responding to Paige. Paige threaded her fingers through Emily's hair and her lips yearned for more as it moved frantically against Emily's. She licked Emily's bottom lip and Emily understood and obligated, granting full access. _

_Emily roamed her hands up Paige's arms and looped them behind Paige's neck. Different sensations were exploding all over Emily's body as they both heatedly relished each other's taste on their tongues. The mixture of peach and vanilla mingled together in the air, causing Emily's desire to grow even more as time passed. Paige slowly bit down on Emily's bottom lip again and Emily couldn't stop her self quickly enough from releasing a soft moan. Paige grinned against Emily's lips as she pulled back to take a breather. Things were accelerating too quickly. _

"_That was…" Paige started to say but didn't finish. She kept her eyes closed and rested her forehead against Emily, hoping that the kiss was amazing for the girl as it was for Paige. _

_Emily smiled softly and said, without realizing that she was also breathless. "You're out of breath."_

_Paige opened her eyes and smiled. "I'm not the only one." _

_Emily blushed and looked away. She was feeling uncomfortable because her heart was jumping too rapidly, but she didn't care. She just had the most remarkable kiss and she wanted to enjoy every single moment of it. Emily could feel her self calming down, but she wasn't ready to face Paige yet. She felt Paige's hand cupping her cheek again, her thumb slowly stroking Emily's soft skin. _

"_That kiss was amazing." Emily decided to break the silence. _

_One corner of Paige's lip tugged upward when she heard Emily's words, sending chills down her spine. Paige looked at Emily and just nodded, no words to describe how Emily's words meant to her at the moment. Amazing described the kiss perfectly, she thought. She has never kissed with such desire or has received that same intensity from any girl before. Emily was her first. _

"_You kiss pretty well, Fields." Paige joked, winked at Emily. _

_Emily laughed quietly, retracted her hands, and playfully shoved Paige away. Emily was about to turn and move towards the door, but Paige quickly grabbed her wrist and spun her back around, holding onto her waist again. Paige snaked both arms around Emily until her hands were linked behind the small of Emily's back and beamed when Emily didn't pull away. _

"_I like kissing you." Paige said, raw with emotion, and grinning like a five years old. _

_Emily could tell that Paige was waiting for her to say something similar back, but Emily was not going to give Paige that satisfaction. When she looked back at Paige, Paige still had that goofy look on her face. Emily couldn't stop her self from smiling at the girl. It was the cutest facial expression she has ever seen. Emily lend in to close the space between them, watching Paige's smile grow as she knew what was happening next. But before they could connect, someone banged on the door and called out for one of the girls._

"_PAIGE!"_

"EMILY!"

Emily snapped out of her memory, looking confused at Hanna's concerned face.

"Uh?"

"Are you okay?" Hanna asked, waving her hand in front of Emily's face.

Emily lend back, swatting Hanna's hand away. Apparently, the bell has rung and Emily didn't hear it. The entire classroom has almost emptied out at this point. Emily looked down at her notebook and realized that she didn't take any notes at all.

"What's wrong with you?" Spencer asked, crossing her arms, pulling her binder close to her chest, and examining Emily closely. "You have been acting all weird since the weekend."

Emily looked away, trying to look busy by gathering her things. Before she looked back at her friends, she noticed Paige leaving. She felt Paige's gaze on her from afar and Emily couldn't help but drift her eyes in that direction. Before Paige headed out though the door, their eyes connected and Paige gave Emily a wink. Emily smiled as she felt the giddiness inside of her starting to stir again. However, she had to quickly remind her self that her friends didn't know about Paige yet, so she has to play it cool until she figures out their status.

"About that. Where were you most of the Saturday night? It was like you disappeared." Hanna pointed out, looking back at Spencer and then to Aria. "You too, Aria."

Aria looked at both Hanna and Spencer, trying her best to act neutral and not giving them any signs of guilt. She opened her mouth, but was interrupted by Emily as Emily stood up abruptly.

"Ready to go?" Emily asked nonchalantly, tugging on the strap of her bag as she threw it over her shoulder.

Spencer raised her eyebrow and sternly said. "You're not changing the subject that quickly. Not again."

Emily insisted on talking about something else. "Come on, Spencer. We have to attend a meeting, remember?"

Aria chimed in agreement so the other girls would drop the subject. "Yeah. Let's go guys. I need to pick up something up from Zach for my mom afterwards so I can't be hanging around here for too long."

Hanna smiled wide and asked. "So…your mother and Zach? Are they getting hot and heavy? Your mom totally scored a cutie with that one, Aria."

"HANNA!" Spencer exclaimed, giving her the stern Hastings' glare. "Totally inappropriate."

"What?" Hanna shrugged, clueless to her comment. "Zach is hot."

Aria knew that if she steer the conversation into another direction, then it might work and save them both the trouble to have to explain to Spencer and Hanna where they were that night. Emily and Aria just both smiled at each other and walked out, following the other two girls towards the student council room.

* * *

"All right. As many of you know, Principal Carson has asked me to organize a fundraiser this year that involves the participation of some of the most outstanding students of the senior class. He wants unity in this school and he thought this would be a good opportunity." Coach Fulton announced. "Look around you. There are athletics, musicians, debaters, student council members, and etc. You guys are going to be working with each other to create a successful fundraising event where the money will be split among all departments. So whatever the event, the more tickets you can sell or money raised, the better. Got it?"

There was a weak enthusiasm as Emily looked around the room. Most of the people who were present, Emily knew. Mona and Lucas were sitting on the other side of the room and Emily gave them a small wave. Jenna was also there, but the rest of her group of friends was not. Are they going to show up soon? So far, this should be an interesting joint effect because of the array of people present.

Spencer lead over and whispered in Emily's ear. "Great. The rest of the trouble-makers are here."

Emily turned around and saw Paige entering the room, late to the meeting.

"Ah. Miss McCullers. Glad you could join us." Coach Fulton folded her arms, annoyed by the tardiness.

Paige shrugged, looking around, and found Emily's eyes on her. Shana, Patrick, and Noel slipped in from behind her and quickly found their seats close to Jenna's. Paige winked at Emily again before taking a seat next to her friends.

"Unbelievable." Spencer mumbled under her breathed. "She's late and she still tries to flirt with you from across the room. Ugh."

Emily heard the comment but didn't say anything, just try to brush it off. Emily tried to remain neutral, not wanting Spencer to question her anymore on her odd behavior because Emily was starting to feel her face heating up.

"Since it looks like _everyone_ is here now, I can go ahead with the announcement. I'm very excited to announce that this year we're doing a karaoke type of fundraiser. I know it's sudden, but that's the challenge. So listen up. There will be five teams. Each team will compete with each other by trying to raise the most money. You can ask for donations or sell event tickets, which ever works for you guys. To make things more interesting, the team with the lowest amount of pledges will have to each volunteer him or her self for at least one song during the night." Coach Fulton concluded, obviously amused by the plot twist.

Emily heard nothing but groans all across the room again. Great, Emily's biggest fear has come true. Public humiliation. Even though Emily has swum in large competitions with huge amount of audience in the stands, she was always able to block the distraction out and perform well. However the idea of singing in front of her classmates was very daunting to her.

"You guys can sign up to go to the town square after school tomorrow. Mayor McCullers agreed to let us take most of the decorations and use it for the karaoke event since there are a lot of brand new items we can re-use. The amount of time you'll spend there will count towards your volunteer hours so I advise you that you'll think about signing up for that. Another activity that you can sign up for is decorating the venue a couple days afterward and the same thing applies to that activity. The karaoke event will be held _this_ weekend following the venue activity, less than a week away from today. Okay? So I need everyone on board so we can make this one the most successful fundraiser for this school year. All right, the list of teams is here, on this table, and the sign-up sheets are on the other table." Coach Fulton scanned the room and smiled. "Let's get to it."

Everyone stood up and started moving towards the two tables. Spencer and Hanna hesitantly made their way to the tables first. Emily and Aria hung around back with Toby and Caleb. There was no rush to go over to the table since everyone was busily looking over the list of teams.

Hanna held up her phone and frowned, reading it. "Ok, I just took a picture of the list of teams and…."

Emily and the rest of her friends created a circle around Hanna, waiting for the girl to started reading out names, but so far, there was only silence.

Spencer nudged the girl on the shoulder. "Hanna, come on."

Hanna looked up, annoyed and scoffed. "Caleb and I are not even on the same team. What the heck?!"

Spencer rolled her eyes and impatiently yanked the phone out of Hanna's hand.

"Hey!" Hanna exclaimed.

Spencer furrowed her eyebrows together. "You got to be joking. Is this a sick joke?!"

Emily and Aria rolled their eyes. Now it was getting annoying so Emily took the phone away from Spencer and Aria lend over to read the list too. Spencer was on the same team as Aria, which was great. However, Paige was also part of that exact group, which caused Emily to feel disappointed. She was hoping that they would be fortunate enough to be on the same team so Emily could spend more time with the girl. Toby was on the same team as Mona and Patrick. Caleb was on the same team as Lucas and Hanna was stuck with Noel. As for Emily, she was stuck on the same team as Shana. Great, she thought, stuck on the same team as Paige's ex-girlfriend. This should be interesting.

"I wish this was."

A voice came from behind Emily and her group of friends, causing everyone to turn around.

Paige walked straight up to Emily with a smirk on her face, making Emily's face turn crimson. "Too bad we're not on the same team."

Spencer folded her arms and looked away in another direction. "Can we get out of here now?"

Paige turned her head and looked at Spencer. "We're teammates now so can we play nice for a bit?"

Paige has been thinking a lot about where things might go with Emily and her. She wasn't sure if she was ready to see where things lead because this has never happened before. Then again, liking Emily was something Paige never saw coming. Now she likes the girl and she wants to be around her every minute. Since they all have to participate in this fundraiser together, why not use this opportunity to get closer to Emily?

Spencer looked back at Paige, still holding on to the annoyance. "We'll meet at the town square tomorrow. I'll text the rest of the team."

Spencer rushed out of the classroom, with everyone following closely behind. Emily coyly walked passed Paige, not sure how to get over this confusing stage. Emily stopped and turned around, giving into her decision about Paige. It was now or never, she told her self. Just go with the flow and they will figure out the next step in the relationship later whenever it gets to that point.

"About what you said earlier. We should try it." Emily said quietly. "We can take it slow…if you want. No pressure."

Paige just stared at her, not knowing how to reply. _Take things slow? _Should she just go for it? Paige thought. Paige wasn't sure what this meant for her but why not try? Take a leap into new territory with Emily and maybe it won't be so bad. Screw it! If anything Paige would be the first to bail if things get to be too much for her. Paige looked up at Emily and nodded without saying a word, giving in.

Emily smiled back and walked out of the classroom while Paige watched her walking away, telling her self that this might get her into big trouble. Really big trouble.

* * *

The next day, the girls followed each other out of Mr. Fitz's classroom and they were all on their way to the town square. They have signed up for all the activities, every single one, hopping that it would give them all the hours of volunteer they needed before graduation. Emily has asked Aria to walk with her to her locker so they told Spencer and Hanna to head to the car without them. As Spencer and Hanna exited the school, Aria linked her arm with Emily, walking slowly down the deserted hallway.

"So are you going to fill me in with details about that night?" Aria asked, looking at the taller girl. "We haven't found time to talk about."

Emily smiled and said. "Are _you_ going to tell me about your night?"

Aria went quiet for a couple of seconds before she beamed again, giving Emily's arm a gentle squeeze. "Everything was so great! No interruptions and we didn't have to worry about the people around us because it was only the two of us. It was perfect. We really needed that, Em. I owe Paige a huge thank you!"

Emily continued to hold her smile as Aria continued to describe how great her night was. It made Emily happy to know that her friend was also happy and then Emily thought of Paige. If Paige didn't set up that private date for them, then they wouldn't be here where they are right now. Emily's thoughts slowly drifted to Paige again, wondering when is the next time she will see the girl. Their time together was cut short after William found them both in that room. Emily's night ended with multiple stolen glances across the room and the growing desire to kiss Paige McCullers again. The same thing occurred yesterday. They just talked briefly and she felt like that was not enough for her. Emily wanted to spend more time with the girl, but time was not on their side. As for the status of their relationship, she was extremely nervous about it, but at the same time, she was very excited to see where things would go. Knowing Paige, their relationship would be pack with surprises, never a dull moment.

"Em." Aria said, squeezing Emily's arm again.

"Huh?" Emily turned and looked down at the small girl, who was smiling at her. "What?"

Aria arched her eyebrow at Emily. "Emily Fields. Where did you go just now?"

Emily embarrassingly smiled and shook her head, causing Aria to smile with her too. Aria asked as they continued to walk down the hallway. "So are you guys together _together_?"

Emily frowned, not sure how to answer Aria. "I don't know. I think so. We haven't talked about being exclusive. We're taking things slow because I don't want to pressure her into something she doesn't want. Promise me that you won't tell Spencer and Hanna just yet. I don't want to mess this one up. "

"I promise. You must _really_ like her, huh?" Aria nudged Emily's shoulder. "I knew when I saw the way you were drooling over her suit."

"I was not." Emily's jaw dropped and gasped. "Fine, I really do like her. A lot. And her suit was hot so I couldn't help my self from staring."

She smiled at Aria, but something out of the corner of her eye made her face fell and her eyes were glued on that person, passed Aria. Paige was standing against the lockers, looking back at Emily. With a smirk, Paige jerked her head left and entered into a room. Emily gulped, thinking to herself if she was reading that sign correctly. Did Paige just tell her to follow her into that room? Why? Emily felt a buzz in her back pocket; she grabbed it, and read the text message.

_We need to talk. –P_

"How about I'll meet up with you, Spencer, and Hanna by the car? I'll be quick." Emily said quietly, almost in a whisper, thoughts racing in her head.

"Ok, Em. See you later." Aria said before disappearing down the hallway.

Emily turned around one more time, making sure that Aria was out of sight before Emily ran over to the area Paige was standing in earlier. She was not so sure what she was doing. She has never been in a position of 'sneaking around.' Are they sneaking around? That was what she felt like she was doing at this moment. What are they? Are they in a romantic relationship? Maybe Paige just really wanted to talk about them and where 'this thing' was going? Maybe Paige doesn't want this anymore? Stop jumping to assumptions, Emily reminded her self of what happened the last time when she just assumed.

Emily and Paige have not defined where they stood on their relationship and that made Emily really nervous. What if Paige doesn't want anything to do with Emily anymore? The fun is over for Paige? Maybe Paige wanted to casually see her? Casually? What did that mean? Would that be okay with Emily? _Stop with the thoughts, Emily!_

Paige was the first girl she liked since Maya and her last relationship left her broken, so it was very nerve racking to jump back into the dating scene for Emily. She didn't want to get hurt again, that's for sure. Maybe Paige has changed her mind and she didn't want to see where this was going between them. Emily shook her head, dismissing all her thoughts, feeling overwhelmed. Unsure if Emily should enter the room or not, she stood there pondering. With a sigh, Emily decided to do it. _Heck with it!_

Before Emily could close the door behind her, a hand snake up from behind her and closed the door with a thud. Another hand placed on her hip pulled her close and a pair of lips crashed into hers. The taste was familiar. One that Emily will never forget because she has tasted these lips three times, to be exact, and that was enough for her to know whom they belonged to. She automatically looped her arms around Paige's neck and kissed the girl back eagerly. Paige looped her arms around Emily's waist and pulled her closer, smashing their bodies together. Emily opened her lips, deepening the kiss and Paige smiled against the kiss. As they slow down, savoring each other's taste, Paige was the first to break contact, but she still held onto Emily.

"Emily."

Emily felt a warm breathe brush against her cheek and a faint scent of peach reached her nose as Paige reminded close.

"Hey." Emily said, surprised by how calm she sounded right now.

Paige looked at Emily. Her eyes lingered on the girl's lips. Paige licked her lips nervousness and a slow grin formed when she looked at Emily directly in the eyes. _Say something, Paige._

"Hi." Paige said, lost for words. "How are you?" She lend in again to kiss Emily.

Emily hasn't registered what Paige asked her yet because she was too occupied moving her lips against Paige's, all thoughts were not making any sense to her.

"Good." Emily managed to answer in between the brief breaks they took before resuming what they were doing. Paige slipped her hand into Emily's and Emily gingerly kissed her back. "You wanted to talk?"

"I don't want to talk anymore." Paige answered and brushed her lips against the other girl's before biting down on Emily's lip. Paige pulled back to examine Emily's face and smiled because she could tell that Emily was blushing under the dim lighting of the classroom.

"Are you still confused about how I feel about you?" Paige asked before placing a firm kiss on Emily's lips. Paige pulled back and smiled at Emily, as the girl still seem in a daze stage, just shaking her head and staring at Paige's lips.

Emily timidly smiled, licking her lips. "Is this your definition of taking things slow?"

Paige shrugged and smiled back. "Works for me. You?"

Paige closed the gap again and kissed the girl hungrily. All day today, Paige has been thinking about Emily and since their conversation yesterday, Paige just wanted to get the chance to kiss the girl. Paige has never felt such a desire for another girl like the way she felt for Emily. Seeing the girl at school or at the police station was not enough. Everything just seemed so busy for the both of them lately and they never really had a good moment to catch up. Even though they're together right now, Paige rather not wasted time talking.

In the back of Emily's mind, this _totally_ works for her, making out with Paige anywhere and anytime. However, she knew that they would need to have 'the talk' soon. Emily already established that she really likes Paige and she wants to see the girl, but not like this, right? Eventually, they have to figure what they want from each other. Emily knew what she wanted, but she didn't know what Paige wanted and that scares her.

"Um…" Emily started nervously and Paige smiled wider, sensing that the girl was still getting nervous around her. "My friends are waiting for me."

"So let them wait." Paige said, as she leaned in and captured the girl's lips again.

Emily's mind screamed no, but it was so hard to reject Paige when they are holding each other this close. Emily couldn't get her mouth to say what her mind is thinking. Screw it. Screw the talk. Emily didn't care at the moment. Paige is here with her, kissing her, which in some sense was 'being together,' right? But was it going to be enough, Emily thought.

Emily pulled back. "I'm serious. I have been gone long enough."

Paige smirked and rolled her eyes playfully at Emily before softly kissing her again. "Fine. A couple more minutes."

* * *

"I'm sorry!" Emily exclaimed desperately when she and all the girls made it to the town square. Emily was organizing all the banners and posters with Hanna and Spencer. "I lost track of time."

Emily has spent the last twenty minutes apologizing to the girls. Apparently, Emily was gone longer than she originally thought. When she was in that room with Paige, it felt like only a couple of minutes. It was not enough, Emily thought. Kissing the girl was definitely a new experience that she has never experienced before. No one could kiss like Paige McCullers. However the question remains. What is Emily doing? What does kissing Paige mean for them? Are they together? Or are they just casual friends who make out? Friends with benefits? _Oh god. _Maybe she should end things and turn back around. This was might not end well for the both of them.

"You were mysteriously gone, but you couldn't explain why." Spencer said in her suspicious tone. "I don't know, Em. You're being really strange lately. I'm on to you, Emily Fields. You're hiding something."

Emily sighed, not sure how to get out of this one. "I'm not hiding anything."

At least that was the truth. Emily didn't really know how to explain her relationship with Paige to her friends. One, she wasn't sure how they were going to feel about her liking Paige or wanting to be with the girl. And two, she was still unsure if Paige wants to be with her like the way she wants to be with Paige. All Emily knows is that Paige liked to kiss her and that's all they have been doing for the last two times they been together. That must mean something, right?

"UGH! I can't wait to get out of here." Caleb exclaimed, interjecting Emily's thoughts and startling all the girls. Caleb and Aria both came over with their piles of posters and joined the three girls.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Hanna asked, immediately running over to Caleb's side, concerned.

"Yeah, Just that Noel Kahn and his posse is here. I can't stand him." Caleb said, pointing over the other side of the room.

Emily looked over to where Caleb pointed and the first person she saw was Paige, sitting at a table with her group of friends. Emily felt a warm flash rippling through her body and her cheeks turning warm. Memories of their make-out session ran through her mind instantly. She had to look down on the pile of posters she was organizing to distract her self because she didn't want any of her friends to catch her blushing.

"I swear I wish Toby was here." Spencer mumbled, looking unpleasantly at the other group.

"What did Noel do this time?" Hanna asked, protective of her boyfriend.

Caleb looked back over to where Noel was standing and just shook his head. "Being a dick."

Emily and her group of friends stood and watched the other group closely. Noel was crumbling pieces of papers and throwing them around, obviously disturbing the other students. He was creating more work for the other students while Jenna and Shana were drawing on some of posters that were lying on the floor. Paige was sitting at the table with Patrick, oblivious to their surrounding and not helping the other students out.

Hanna grew in frustration and quickly walked over there. Caleb immediately tried to hold her back, but it was too late. Hanna slipped through his grip.

"You know? We need helpers, not assholes who are going to create more work for the rest of the students." Hanna said out loud, causing the entire room to go silent and everyone's eyes were on them. "We're volunteering to clean up, not to make a larger mess. We need those posters for our fund-raising event and you guys are drawing crap on them. Be considerate. If you guys are not willing to help, then you guys can go be disruptive somewhere else."

Emily and the rest of the girls quickly ran over to Hanna's side. Things could get out of hand between Hanna and Noel. Everyone knows that they're both hotheads and from the tone Hanna was using, Emily knew that Hanna was extremely pissed.

Noel looked up at Hanna and threw more paper into the air. He smiled deviously at Hanna; amused that Hanna had the guts to call him out right now. "Wow Rivers. I didn't know that you let your girlfriend fight your battles for you."

"She's not." Caleb said, grabbing Hanna's hand and tugging it, telling her to drop it and leave.

"Caleb, no! Someone has to put him in his place. I'm not afraid of you, Noel." Hanna said, yanking her hand away and turning back to Noel and his friends.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Emily caught Paige staring at her. Emily's breathe hitched by the intensity of the stare, but she has to focus on Hanna right now because Hanna looks like she's going to lose it any second.

"Listen Hanna. We're helping too. It's not only just you and your group of friends, who are cleaning this place up." Noel said as he looked back at Shana and Jenna. Both girls smirked at him. "Your boy here was just in the way so I asked him nicely to move. That's all. Didn't know he was going to get butt hurt over it."

Caleb shot a look at Noel. "You can't shovel people around and call that asking nicely. If you have a problem, be a man and let's talk about it." Caleb walked up to Noel and looked at him directly in the face. Noel squared up back at Caleb, not showing any signs of intimidation.

"AHEM."

Everyone turned his or her attention towards the sudden noise. Paige saw who it was and immediately stood up. What is this, she thought.

"Is there a problem here?" Mayor McCullers asked loudly as he entered the room. He walked up to Noel, and put his hand on Noel's shoulder, easing him away from Caleb. Mayor McCullers looked at Caleb, waiting for an answer.

Caleb looked at Noel and then back at Mayor McCullers, "Ask him."

Mayor McCullers looked at Noel and Noel shook his head. With that, Mayor McCullers looked around that room and then smile. "Sorry for interrupting your work everyone. Keep up the good work. Please, don't mind me."

There was just the way that her father looked that scared Paige. She had no idea what he was doing here. It was odd for Nick McCullers, considering that he spend most of his time in Philly. He is never present in Rosewood unless the problem originated in Rosewood. And because Nick was standing here in the flesh, Paige could only assume that either Paige or Noel was the problem and have done something that didn't please Nick.

"Paige. Noel. Can I have a word with you guys?" Mayor McCullers asked sternly.

_Bingo._

Nick turned and walked to the other side of the room. Paige looked at Noel, wondering what is it this time that her father was pissed about. She has been on her best behavior for the past week and at the banquet so she had no idea what this sudden summon was about. Noel frowned at Paige before following Nick across the room and Paige was not far behind. Emily watched uncomfortably as she and her friends stood there. Something didn't feel right. She knew that Paige and her father didn't see eye-to-eye, but witnessing their interaction was a different experience. Nick McCullers' mannerism was completely cold and very distant. And by the facial expression of Paige, Emily knew that this visit was not going to be a good one for her.

"Someone is having a bad day and it's not me." Aria whispered to Emily, as the girl pulled Emily's arm so they could return to their work.

Every once in awhile, out of the corner of Emily's eyes, she watched Paige's interaction. Paige was just looking down at the floor the entire time while her father looked like he was actually scolding her and Noel looked like he could care less about being scolded at.

"Hey, Emily?" Spencer called. " Can you grab some big trash bags over there?" Spencer pointed to the table with boxes of bags and Emily looked back at her shaking her head, not wanting to do the favor.

Spencer looked away and said. "I'm not going over there, not going over to where the McCullers are at."

Of course that table was near where Mayor McCullers, Paige, and Noel were standing. With a sigh, Emily walked over there. She was dreading it because she didn't want to interrupt the McCullers' conversation. Emily didn't know what was going on, but everyone in the room can feel the intense shift of tension in the air. Emily was close enough just to over hear what Mayor McCullers was scolding Paige and Noel about. She slowly grabbed the trash bags, one by one out of the box, stalking her time to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"It's not 100% my fault, Nick." Emily heard Noel's voice. "Things got boring so I left. What's the big deal anyways? At least I stayed for some on the banquet unlike Paige over here."

"Where were you, Paige?" Emily heard Mayor McCullers asked.

Paige didn't answer as she looked up at the ceiling. If she just ignores her father, he will just drop the issue. She was not in the mood to explain to him how this beautiful girl saved her from the most boring day of her life. Nick McCullers would not understand.

Mayor McCullers' voice became angry. "I introduced you both at dinner, but you both were no shows, embarrassed me. I spent the last couple of days doing damage control because you two made me look stupid in front of Rosewood! Not to mention, I'm slipping in the polls because people thought that we were not the perfect family we claimed to be!"

"That was your claim, not mine." Paige mumbled, wishing that they could have this conversation somewhere a little more private.

"I want to know what you were doing that is more important than supporting your father, Paige?! You know the banquet was crucial for my campaign, yet you choose to disregard it. I'm not gaining the people's support because you decided to show up in that stupid suit and then have the nerves to disappear the entire night! You're my daughter and you know the role you have to play in this campaign. So I want to know, Paige. What were you doing that was so important that you caused me my lead in the political polls?!"

Noel spotted Emily standing near by, listening on the conversation, and cough while saying, "Or with who?"

"Excuse me?!" Mayor McCullers turned to Noel and he pointed subtly to Emily. Paige's blood turned ice cold, looking at Emily then back at her father. Her father's face was becoming redder with anger and she knew that Noel was just changing the subject so her father doesn't focus on him at the moment.

"That's my cue to leave." Noel whispered to Paige. "Good luck, sis."

As Noel slipped away, Nick turned his attention back to Paige. "Explain this."

Paige shrugged, standing up to her father. "There's nothing to explain. I will do whatever I want. I don't need to explain _anything_ to you after you scolded me like a five-years old in public. Especially if you're not going to be open-minded and considerate of how I feel. You're embarrassing yourself I hope you know that." Paige looked away from her father, knowing that she has fully pissed him off now, but it was better than dragging Emily into this mess. Paige refuses to let that happen.

"Can I be dismissed now? I'm trying to get my volunteer time in and you're not letting me do that, Mayor McCullers."

Emily grabbed the last trash bag before she walked away and back to Spencer, handed them to the girl.

"Jeez. What's going on over that?" Hanna asked, walking up to Spencer and her.

As they looked on, Mayor McCullers was pointing a finger and poking Paige in the shoulder, but the girl looked so immune to the scolding she was receiving. More questions formed in Emily's head. Why was Paige getting into trouble? And what was Paige referring to when she said 'considerate of how she feels'?

* * *

The next afternoon, Emily and her group of friends were still talking about what happened the previous day. Toby wasn't there, so Caleb had to fill him in on all the drama. Emily and her friends were sitting outside in the courtyard, at their regular lunch table. Emily was picking at her salad, just going with the flow of the day; her mind seems to wander to what she witnessed yesterday, between Paige and her father. Emily was still worried, but she didn't want to over step her boundaries if she brought up the topic to Paige. However, Emily couldn't help but be more curious about it after she witnessed their interaction.

Caleb was animatedly telling his story about how Hanna stood up to Noel and how proud he was of his girl for being so bold.

"Honestly, everyone in that group bugs the crap out of me." Toby said, with Spencer agreeing with him. "After this fundraiser, it's best to keep our distance."

"Can we somehow ignore them at the fundraiser?" Hanna asked with annoyance. "I mean, Noel is on my team and you saw how he was acting yesterday. How am I supposed to work with a person like that? We're not going to get anything done and he would create more work for everyone else."

Spencer huffed. "There's a lot of work to begin with so we need everyone on board. Plus, the more of us is better. I refuse to be ordered around by McCullers."

Spencer paused and continued. "Hanna, you're part of student council. This will count as volunteer hour so in the end; it will look good on your college application. It's definitely worth it."

Hanna rolled her eyes, "I guess. I'm telling you right now. I'm not going to do any heavy lifting that's for sure. And if Noel messes with Caleb here, I will knock him on his ass."

Emily was sitting there, quietly thinking to her self that not everyone in Paige's group of friends was bad. Patrick was really nice every time she talked to the guy and she liked him. Of course, she liked Paige also. However, sitting at lunch, hearing her friends disapproving everyone that is associated with Noel was getting uncomfortable.

"So anyways, Em. Have you talked to Samara since the banquet?" Hanna asked out of the blue, biting into her sandwich.

Emily looked up and she felt guilt plaguing her conscious. "No."

"Why not, Em?" Spencer said, putting her fork down on the table. "You owe her an apology. You left the poor girl, hanging by her self the entire night. I'm surprised that she was so cool about it afterward."

After William found them, Emily didn't want to return to her table of friends so Paige had Alfred drive Emily home that evening. Emily just texted her friends, telling them that she wasn't feeling well so she decided to leave early. No one beside Aria knew that she spent a good part of her night with Paige. After the previous Paige-and-company bashing, Emily was unsure how to ease that information into the conversation with her friends since they have disapproved every single one of Paige's friends.

"I know. I owe her apology. But…" Emily started, but was cut off by Hanna.

"The girl got the hots for you. You owe her more than an apology." Hanna said with an amusement tone thread in her voice.

"HANNA!" Aria and Caleb both exclaimed, shaking their heads.

"What?" Hanna asked innocently.

"Totally inappropriate, Han." Caleb said with a smile. "But I mean, Hanna does have a point. Samara has it bad for you, Em."

Emily shockingly looked back at the table of her friends. They are seriously pushing her towards Samara, but Emily didn't want that.

"Guys, no. I'm…." Emily said shaking her head, but once again interrupted.

"She's smoking hot and so are you. You guys make one hot lesbian couple." Hanna chimed in, adding more wood to the fire.

Emily rolled her eyes at Hanna, tired of hearing about Samara when really the girl is just a friend. Nothing more. "Shut up, Hanna!"

Aria could sense Emily's frustration when she chimed in, to hint to the other girls to drop the subject. "I'm pretty sure Emily will have no trouble finding someone she likes. She got to do that on her own, guys."

Hanna looked surprised and raised both hands in defense. "I was just trying to help."

Emily gave up. There was no point to argue with her friends right now. They're going to insist and then they going to take pleasure in watching her swarm. Emily didn't have energy to deal with that in the middle of the afternoon so she just brushed it off, hoping that they will drop it. With a sigh, she grabbed her bottle of orange juice and twisted the cap to open. She was in mid-sip when she heard a warning coming from her right side.

"Heads up!"

A body slammed into Emily, making her lose the grip on her bottle of orange juice. Emily gasped in shock, as the content flew straight out from the bottle and landed all over Emily's shirt and table. Emily looked down at her self and it was a huge mess all over the front of her shirt. She looked at her friends and all of them had their mouth opened in shock.

"I'm so sorry."

Emily looked up and Patrick stared back at her in horror, with a leather football in his arms. He bend down to Emily's level and quickly began to help wipe the table with some napkins. When Emily looked passed Patrick, she saw the rest of his friends staring at her. Emily felt embarrassed as she felt all the students, in the area, gawking at her.

"I'm so sorry, Emily. I didn't mean to bump into you. I was too focus on catching the ball that I wasn't looking at where I was going." Patrick kept on apologizing, but Emily was still stuck in after-shock.

"It's ok, Patrick. I have a change of clothes in my gym locker." Emily quickly grabbed her stuff. Aria assured her that they can clean up the table and Emily should worry about cleaning her self before the lunch period was over.

"See? We totally need to keep our distance." Toby mumbled quietly.

* * *

Emily blasted through the doors of the locker room and dropped all of her belongings on the floor before locating her locker.

"Ugh." Her frustration was boiling over the top. "Worst day, ever. First Samara, now this."

She quickly dialed in the combination in annoyance. She was beginning to feel the content drying up and it was creating a stickiness on her skin. Once the locker was opened, she searched for a new shirt and walked over to the sink. She threw her old shirt off over her head and turned on the sink. Using a wet paper towel, she dabbed the sticky content off of her chest before throwing the new shirt on. She looked in the mirror and fixed her appearance.

"Sorry about your shirt."

Emily jumped, thinking that she was in the locker room alone. Especially at this hour, everyone was at lunch. Therefore she didn't even bothered to check the room to see if someone else was in here with her.

"What are you doing here?" Emily asked breathlessly, turning towards Paige, who was tossing the football in between her hands.

"To see if you're okay." Paige said, closing the distance between them.

Emily instantly took a step back, but realized that she was caught between the sink and Paige. She looked at the football and back at Paige. So Paige was the one who was playing ball with Patrick and made Patrick bumped into her. Emily shoved Paige lightly on the shoulder.

"So you're the one who threw the ball towards my direction." Emily said, accusingly.

Paige smirked and looked back at Emily. "I need a plan."

"A plan for what?" Emily was furious now that she knows that all along Paige was setting this up. Emily was having a bad day and now she has a ruined shirt to add to the list of things-gone-wrong today. She shoved Paige one more time, before Paige grabbed her hand, captured the girl's lips hungrily.

All day, Paige couldn't stop thinking about Emily. She didn't understand why, but she knew that she likes to kiss Emily a lot and she wants to do it again and again. When Paige saw that Patrick brought his football to lunch with him, she knew that this was the best opportunity. She knew that Emily might get upset because her shirt was ruined, but Paige hoped that she didn't mind if they get to spend some time together.

Instantly, Emily melted against Paige as she responded with the same demanding intensity. Paige dropped the football and both of her arms snaked behind Emily's back, lending in close as possible where Emily was pressed against the sink. Emily moved one hand up to Paige's cheek and cradled it, deepening her kiss. She wanted more so she gently tugged at the bottom of Paige's lips and a moan rang in her ears. Once Paige opened her mouth, her hands traveled along Emily's hips and down the lengths of Emily' thighs. As Paige tasted Emily's tongues on hers, she used both of her arms and lifted Emily onto the sink. Paige braced both hands on the side of the sink, stepped forward, and Emily wrapped her legs around Paige, pulling Paige in closer.

This was getting too intense, too quickly so Paige slightly, broke the contact. Her head was spinning out of control and she became completely winded. Paige lend her forehead against Emily, not opening her eyes just yet.

"Plan for that." Paige said, smirking as her hand travel down Emily's neck to pull the girl into another kiss. "And this."

Paige dug her hand into Emily's hair, feeling the silky texture threading through her fingers. Everything about Emily was so intoxicating. Paige couldn't get enough. Emily was not like any girl Paige has been with and the emotions that she gets when she is around Emily are so foreign to her, exciting but scary at the same time. As of right now, she doesn't care. She had wanted to kiss Emily again since their after-school-in-the-classroom make-out session and now she wasn't going to waste any time since they're both on their lunch period.

Emily pulled back as she was feeling her body go numb, lend her forehead as Paige's and looping arms around Paige's neck.

"Holy shit." Emily said, under her breathe, feeling her heart skipping with emotions.

Paige heard and chuckled, "Right? Tell me this was a good idea."

Emily was still trying to even her breathing, but she was having a tough time so she just nodded.

"I've been dying to kiss you again since yesterday." Paige said in a matter of fact. She lend in and huskily whispered in Emily's ear. "In fact, that's all I can think about is your lips. All. The. Time."

The warm breath tickled Emily's ear, sending chills down her back and the hairs on her arms to stand up. Emily looked back at Paige and kissed her softly. Honestly, Emily has never interacted with anyone like Paige before. Paige was confident, maybe even arrogant, but there was something about all of that that drives Emily wild and Emily liked it.

Paige trailed kisses on Emily's cheek and down her jaw line. She stopped near the spot under Emily's ear and began to gently suck that area, causing Emily to close her eyes and relish on this new and foreign sensation she was feeling.

Emily's heart jumped at the realization that she is in another making out session with Paige, at school. Emily bit down hard on her lip to stop any noise from escaping, but she couldn't. _Breathe, Emily_. The way Paige was sucking on her neck was awaking every desire in her body. Emily couldn't believe it. There was something exciting about the fact that they could get into trouble for this, but she couldn't think right now so she didn't care if they got caught.

When the lunch bell rang, Emily was the first to pull back and look at Paige. Paige just smiled and said, "Darn. Time's up."

Paige detangled her self from Emily, stepped back, and extended both hands to Emily. She placed her hands in Paige's and the girl helped her jump off the sink. Paige brought one hand up to Emily's cheek and cupped it, her thumb gently caressing the blush.

Paige smirked and teased, "Your face is flushed. It's cute."

Emily looked away shyly; embarrassed that Paige can have this much affect on her. So much for taking things slow, Emily thought. Thing are just getting more and more intense very time they are around each other. _Holy shit._

"Here." Paige walked back over to Emily with the rest of her belongings. "You're going to be late if you continue to stand here with that bewildered expression on your face." Paige said, chuckling softly. "Come on."

Emily was still in a daze, finding it hard to concentrate after the intense make-out session. Paige smirked at Emily and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. If this is how their relationship was going to be, then Paige was glad to want to see where things would go with her and Emily. Paige has never been in a situation where she couldn't get enough of one person. Definitely, no one else like the way Emily Fields makes her feel.

Paige slipped her hand into Emily's, passed a gentle smile at Emily, and pulled the girl towards the exit. As Emily's heart pound loudly against her chest, she told her self that it was too late, she was in deep, deep trouble this time around, and there was no way she wants to turn back now.

* * *

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